Plusle and Minun: A Story
by Beacker1160
Summary: This is a sad, haunting story about a Plusle and a Minun's enduring friendship. Few have a stronger bond than the two: red and blue, positive and negative, they attract each other with a spark that seems to be theirs alone. But what happens when one of them is gone forever? Ten years later, Minun still struggles to accept the fact that his best friend Plusle is dead.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: Hello, my readers! What you have in your hands - or rather, on your screens - is my latest fanfiction, titled Plusle and Minun: A Story. It's set in the world of Pokemon Mystery Dungeons: Blue Rescue Team, and tells the story of Minun, a Pokemon who struggles to deal with the death his partner Pokemon, Plusle. I hope you like this story, which I made as a Christmas present for you loyal readers to share and enjoy. **

**Merry Christmas! - Beacker1160**

**P.S. It has come to my attention that currently FFN's document editor is going crazy (perhaps it has eaten too many Christmas cookies) and removing my three-asterisk line breaks. Please excuse any parts where there seems like a line break should exist, but isn't there. In the meantime, I'm using the temporary, horizontal line breaks as an emergency substitute while I try to figure out exactly what is going on.**

* * *

_Dedicated to the very special Pokemon fans I'm fortunate to have as friends, as well as all my loyal readers - Merry Christmas to each and every one of you!_

* * *

The skies were a bleak shade of gray.

Thunder boomed in the distance as I looked out of the window at the distant clouds. Trees swayed in the wind; leaves scuttled down the path outside, tumbling as they were blown away.

"Minun!" A familiar voice called. I looked down to see my close friend Pichu jumping up and down as he waved at me. "Help me take the flag down before the rain gets here!" I nodded reluctantly at him.

Sighing, I turned away from the window. My room was spacious but cozy, and took up most of the second floor of the rescue team base. Shelves lined the wall, and a large fireplace was surrounded by chairs and sofas. As I walked by, I tossed another log into the flames, which crackled happily while I went down the stairs and out the door.

Outside in the courtyard the wind had begun to pick up. Thunder rumbled in the distance as angry, dark clouds gathered on the horizon. I paused for a minute, watching Pichu jump wildly as he tried to grab the rope that would pull the flag down.

For a moment, I caught a glimpse of the flag's design: a silver rose and a lightning bolt crossed together on a bright red background, and I smiled sadly. Nobody else on our rescue team could even guess at what the flag really meant, and sometimes it seemed that only Pichu and I knew why I picked that mysterious design.

"Minun? I need some help here, please!" Pichu yelled above the wind. Shaking off my thoughts, I trudged over to the flagpole. Concentrating on the rope, I tensed myself before leaping into the air, grabbing hold of the rope, and landing perfectly on my feet to hand it to Pichu.

"Wow!" Pichu exclaimed. "I haven't seen you do it that well in a while. Anyway, thanks. You know I'm no good at that." Quickly, he lowered the flag and unhooked it. We dashed inside just as a terrific crash of thunder suddenly sounded and rain began to fall from the sky.

* * *

The gentle pit-pat of the rain on the roof and the crackling wood in the fireplace were all I heard as I paused in front of one of my many shelves, looking for something worth reading. They all seemed to be covered in little pictures of the adventures Pichu and I went on and thank-you notes from the Pokemon we'd saved.

There weren't that many books though, and I pulled the first one I saw off the shelf, brushing the dust off the cover. I flipped through several pages, reading by the flickering glow of the fire. Sighing, I decided I did not want to read about "Chapter XVII: The Various Applications of Oran Berries", and snapped the book shut.

I was just about to put the musty old book back when I heard footsteps on the stairs. I turned just in time to see Pichu emerge from the first floor. He seemed tired, but he brightened the minute he saw me.

"Minun? Trying to find something good to read again?" He asked. I nodded as I carefully slid the old book back into its place. "I decided I didn't want to read about berries again," I explained. Pichu chuckled as he plopped down on a seat. "Anyways, since we're talking about berries, I used some of ours," he reported. "There was a cute little baby Spheal, and I had to rescue it."

"That's okay," I said, moving over to the fireplace. A moment passed. There was nothing but silence as I stared into the warm glow of the fire, thinking about how many rescue requests I could handle the next day. I was always proud of the Pokemon that Pichu and I rescued and the things we'd accomplished as a team, but some days all I wanted to do was sit in front of the fire and relax. This was one of those days.

Finally, I broke the silence. "Are the other team members alright?" I asked. Pichu thought for a moment. "Well, most of them are safe and sound. I went around and checked. Victoria was still running around town with her huge list of things to do," he said.

I shuddered at the thought of poor Victoria, a Ninetails who hated storms, slinking about in the pouring rain. "Wait. She's out of the rain, right?" I asked.

Pichu smiled. "Yeah, of course, Minun. She's probably in her den right now, ranting about how she joined the team to be fabulous, not to run errands for everyone else."

I sighed in relief. Victoria could be a bit snobbish and self-centered at times, but she was a good-natured and warm-hearted Ninetails who wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice everything for the good of the rescue team. She hated the rain, and I was glad she was out of it.

For a while, I stared into the fire. The flames danced among the burning logs, giving off a warm, flickering light that seemed to give the whole room a pleasant glow. I couldn't enjoy the sight, though. There was something nagging me in the back of my mind, as if I'd forgotten to do something. But what was it? I tried to remember, but I hadn't had enough sleep and my mind was cloudy. I sighed.

"Minun?" Pichu murmured.

"Yes?"

"Today's the anniversary of our team."

I sat up in surprise. So that was it! A wave of guilt rushed over me as I realized I'd totally forgotten the day I'd founded my own team. "Sorry," I muttered. "I totally forgot." Sighing, I shook my head despairingly. Had I really been so busy I'd forgotten such an important day?

"It's okay, Minun," Pichu reassured me soothingly. "I was busy, too. We all were. You would know that," he said, a small smile appearing on his face. Suddenly, he seemed more pensive.

"I...I made you something, Minun. To celebrate the anniversary," he said nervously. Before I could reply, he'd taken out something from behind the sofa. For a moment, I stared at it. It was a beautiful miniature statue carved from precious lapis stone, mounted on a white marble pedestal. Glinting in the gentle glow of the fire, it depicted Pichu and I celebrating joyously the day we'd officially founded Team Silver Rose, six years ago.

Tears came to my eyes. "Pichu...did you just..." I trailed off, not knowing what to say. The lapis stone itself probably costed thousands of Poke, as did the priceless white marble. Yet Pichu had spent his painstakingly saved Poke without a second thought, just to please me for an anniversary I'd completely forgotten. The hand-carved statue had nearly perfect curves and forms, and it must've taken Pichu days to patiently chisel out all the fine details. He had probably dedicated months of his free time to the masterpiece.

"...do you like it?" Pichu asked nervously. He was carefully observing my amazed expression, trying to gauge my reaction.

For a second, I was too stunned to speak. "I...of course I do! I love it!" I finally exclaimed, rushing forward and embracing Pichu. He laughed awkwardly, and passed me the statue. A grin came over his face. "I'm glad you do, Minun," he said cheerfully. "That makes it all worthwhile."

* * *

I yawned, searching through the shelves. This time, though, I wasn't looking for a book; I was trying to find a place to display the brilliant statue Pichu had created for me. I wanted to find a place that would do the masterpiece justice, but all of the best spots were taken by the awards and certificates of excellence that we'd earned.

A few hours had passed since Pichu and I had sat around the fire, celebrating our anniversary. He'd went out after that, into the rain, to check on Victoria and give her a gift for the occasion. I felt content, but something still bothered me, hiding in the depths of my memory whenever I tried to recall what it was.

Had I missed something? Was there some other occasion that I'd totally forgotten about? I kept telling myself that it was impossible, that today, the only thing happening was the anniversary of Team Silver Rose. Or was it?

Sighing, I got back up and started searching for a place to display the statue again. It seemed as if I'd checked all the shelves...except the one by my bed. I made my way over to it, and within a few seconds I'd found the perfect place. It was one of the last few free spots, surrounded by two smaller statues that seemed to make Pichu's masterpiece even more amazing. Gently placing it on the shelf, I stepped back to admire the effect.

That's when I noticed the other statue.

It sat quietly in a corner, nestled among other mementos. A thin layer of dust had gathered on the polished gold surface, but that didn't change its appearance. It depicted a Plusle with a joyous expression on his face, holding a silver rose high above him. He seemed so bright, so full of life that he could dance away at any moment, twirling his silver rose in delight.

Tears filled my eyes. Silently, I reached out and took the golden statue, gently brushing the dust from it. How could I forget? How could I not remember that tragic day? Now I knew what had been bothering me all along. Now I knew.

When Pichu finally returned, he found me sitting by the fire, my tears glistening in the flickering glow. "Oh, Minun!" He exclaimed. "Minun, please don't be sad!" He pleaded with me. "Oh no, it's about Plusle, isn't it? Please, Minun, it's our anniversary! Minun..."

But no matter what he said, I had stopped listening the minute I found the golden statue. I was too busy grieving for a lost friend, a lost companion. All I could do was mouth the words "I'm sorry", over and over, though I wasn't sure if I was sorry for Pichu or apologizing for what I'd done to Plusle. Maybe it was both.

Today was the anniversary of Team Silver Rose.

But it was also the anniversary of that fateful day so many years ago, when my best friend, my lifelong companion, my soul-mate Plusle died.


	2. A Faded Past

_10 years ago_

"And whatever you do, don't go to Boulder Mountain!"

Plusle and I often pretended to listen as all the grown-up Pokemon repeated that phrase to us over and over. It was almost a saying around the small village where we'd grown up - that, whatever you do, you could never go to the place called Boulder Mountain.

Our village was in a rich, beautiful valley surrounded by many, scraggly peaks. The biggest was the Forbidden Peak, which attracted tons of experienced rescue teams that loved to train in the huge mountain. They'd always arrive in our village asking for directions to the peak, and a few days later they'd return defeated, saying Forbidden Peak was "too difficult".

The grown-ups in our village never really listened to the explorers whenever they heard them say that. "They don't know what real difficulty is," the adults would say, shaking their heads sadly. "They've never been to Boulder Mountain."

Even though Forbidden Peak was the tallest mountain around, everyone in the village feared Boulder Mountain. At first, it didn't seem that threatening: it stood towards at the northern edge of the valley, just like Forbidden Peak, and it looked cracked and old. There didn't seem to be any caves that hid terrifying wild Pokemon. Boulder Mountain didn't even have a peak - the tip of the mountain was rounded, like a boulder. It seemed tiny compared to Forbidden Peak.

The real reason why everyone was afraid of Boulder Mountain, though, was because of the monster that lived there. At night, Plusle and I sometimes heard distant roaring - said to come from the monster that inhabited Boulder Mountain. All the adults told us to never go there, unless we wanted to disappear forever. We mostly obeyed, but Plusle always seemed to ignore their warnings.

Plusle knew a secret about Boulder Mountain that he'd only share with me. Some days when we played in the meadows around the village, he'd point at the tip of Boulder Mountain and say, "Minun, I know what's up at the top. Don't you want to know? There's a hill at the top, Minun, and silver flowers grow there!"

Even though I never really believed him, I'd always wanted to find out what Boulder Mountain really looked like at the top. Plusle said it was a hill of silvery flowers, but I thought that maybe there was a cave, or even a crater, all the way up there. But I never wanted to find out. Each night, just the distant roars of the monster made me curl up in fright.

Plusle didn't seem scared by the monster, though. He'd often look at Boulder Mountain say in a dreamy sort of voice, "Minun, I want to go there. I want to stand at the top of Boulder Mountain and pick silver flowers and look at the whole world from all the way up high. Minun, you'll take me there someday, will you? Will you?"

I'd always try to find excuses, like that it wasn't safe, or the monster would eat us, or something. But Plusle seemed unfazed. "We can be friends with the monster!" He'd say cheerfully. "We'll give him some silver roses and he'll like us then!" Still, he didn't ever really try to get me to go. Maybe he was secretly afraid, too. I would never know.

But even though Plusle and I disagreed about Boulder Mountain, we were still the best, the closest, the most affectionate friends the whole village had seen. The first time I saw him was the day I was born - Plusle's parents had brought him - only a few months' older - over to celebrate. Ever since then we'd had so much fun, caused so much mischief and cheered for more times than we could remember.

The greatest trial of our friendship came one cold, harsh winter when we were eight. Snowstorms buried the village daily; freezing, biting wind swept across the frostbitten valley, occasionally blowing the thatched roof off of some unlucky Pokemon's hut. At night, a chilling, icy cold settled across the silent landscape, illuminated by a beautifully clear moon. Sometimes during the absolutely still, quiet, tranquil nights, I'd climb up to the straw roof and stay for as long as I could stand the cold, quietly taking in the terribly beautiful landscape.

But that winter was far from serene. A deadly disease was spreading among the hungry, cold villagers. Worse, the cure was unavailable: a certain type of berry that only grew on low-lying bushes that the snow quickly buried and killed. Since all the mountain passes were snowed in, it was impossible to travel to our remote little village, and that winter no rescue teams could arrive with the help we desperately needed.

Soon, many were suffering from the plague: dozens of Pokemon were desperately diseased and dying. My mother, a Pichu, and father, a Minun knew enough from seeing their closest friends die to know they had the disease too. Afraid that it would spread to me, they made one of the hardest decisions they had: to leave me in the care of Plusle's parents.

One morning I woke to find myself in Plusle's home. He tearfully explained that my parents had gone "to a faraway land" so they wouldn't spread the disease to me. I never heard from them again; later, I learned that they'd died soon after. But I wouldn't know, wouldn't believe that tragic fact for months to come. And so I patiently waited, day after day, for my parents to return, and wondering night after night what happened to them when they didn't.

Thankfully, after an icy, harsh eternity the nightmare was over. As soon as the winter began to lighten up, determined rescue teams pushed through the last blizzards and past harrowing canyons. They brought all sorts of relief, yet they were unprepared to see the devastation our village had been through: so many Pokemon had died that the village seemed abandoned. Rescue teams searched everywhere in the valley for the cure, but couldn't find a single bush. They eventually brought it in from the outside world, but it was too late to save the Pokemon that already died.

But even though the plague was over, I was suffering from another kind of disease: loneliness. Plusle kept me company all through the harsh winter, but his family could barely afford to feed me. Plusle's parents tried as hard as they could, but it was painfully obvious that it wouldn't be enough. They refused to abandon me; I was almost family to them, but I knew they couldn't last much longer.

Then Evie came.

The first time I saw her was when the very first rescue teams had forced their way into the valley, overcoming impossible odds: the bitter, wintry, frostbitten weather, the twisting, wandering mountain passes that were often invisible in the blinding, swirling blizzards, and the treacherous ravines covered by a blanket of snow, inviting death to all who wandered into the trap.

Evie wasn't part of those groups of brave souls that risked everything to bring help to us: she had gone along to assist them, in exchange for them acting as guides to help her through the mountains. She'd come to the valley to study about its lush, beautiful wilderness, its amazing number of native Pokemon, and its rich history, and intended to stay for a few months.

Plusle and I noticed her immediately. Perhaps it was because she looked like no other Pokemon we'd ever seen ("Like a blue fox with fins!" Plusle had commented), or perhaps it was simply because we didn't see that many outsiders who wanted to stay in our village, but the first chance we got, we set out to learn all about her.

Evie was very sweet and welcomed our attention as we accompanied her on her trips around the valley, gathering information for her research. She'd often answer our questions as she collected some plants, or sketched pictures of the village, or spoke to the old, wise Pokemon elders that lived around the valley.

We learned that she was a "vaporeon" ("we are gentle, flowing water pokemon; one of the four ancient, noble evolutions of eevee", she explained with a smile), and she was taking a break from her rescue team life (after a tragic event she wouldn't tell us about, her team had disbanded) to study our valley before moving on.

And why our valley? "My ancestry comes from here," she said, smiling mysteriously. Later, we discovered that she had a distant relative in the village: old Sol, an umbreon famous around the village as an experienced mountain guide, and she was staying at his small, modest hut.

Of course, it wasn't always us asking the questions. Evie was just as interested about us. But while Plusle cheerfully answered all her questions, I mostly stayed silent for fear of having to talk about my family and the plague that killed them, that made them wither away until they were nothing but mere ghosts of their usual, vibrant, lively selves. I hoped she wouldn't mind, but Evie could tell something was wrong. She'd often glance at me worriedly, but I always looked away.

Evie never confronted me about it, until one afternoon while Evie and I were gathering wildflowers for her collection. She had been picking one of the thousands of yellowish gold flowers that dotted our valley when she suddenly stopped. "Minun? Can I speak to you?" She asked.

I looked around for Plusle, but I couldn't see him. He must've wandered off again, I thought. Then a thought occurred to me: had she purposefully waited for this moment to start a conversation? A cold dread began to rise in me as I began to realize what exactly she wanted to talk about.

Evie turned to me, her deep blue eyes glinting in the afternoon sunlight, her aqua-blue pelt sleek and shiny, her white, ruffled collar and beige fins perfect characteristics of the noble vaporeon she embodied. She looked stunning that afternoon, although her worried face betrayed her otherwise content appearance.

"Minun? Is something...wrong?" She asked hesitantly.

Panicking, I feigned ignorance. "What's wrong, Evie?" I asked, trying my absolute best to sound innocent. "I feel fine today. Did something happen?"

Evie turned away for a brief moment. She appeared to be deep in thought, her back facing me, the flowers in her paws blowing in the gentle breeze.

"No, Minun. I mean...is there anything wrong with life?" She paused for a second before continuing. "You always seem so...so gloomy, Minun. Like something bad happened to you that stole all your happiness, all your lively banter and mischief that...yes, that I've come to love about you and Plusle." She said.

For a while, there was a long silence between us. Then:

"Well...if you don't want to tell me, I suppose it's alright," she conceded. "I...well, I have some things of my own that I'd rather not tell anyone." She admitted. Suddenly, she swung around and met my gaze. "But if you have anything- anything at all, really, that you'd like to talk to me about...well, I'm always here," she said. "If you're feeling sad, or gloomy, or...oh, I don't know; if you're feeling bad at all, come to me, okay? Please?"

A faint smile came to her face when I nodded. She reached out her slender, soft paw, and I shook it. "Great. That's- it's settled, then, I guess." For a moment it seemed as if she would go back to collecting wildflowers, but suddenly, her face was clouded with gloom.

"Oh, Minun-" She said sorrowfully. "It just- it hurts me so much to see you like this. It hurts me to see you so sad, so down all the time. It hurts me to see you so depressed, when everyone else is so happy! You and Plusle - you two are always so cheerful that it just doesn't seem like you to act like this, day after day."

A brief pause. I heard a sniffle, although I couldn't tell if Evie was crying or not. "Whatever happened to you, Minun? What could've caused you to be scarred like this? I shudder to think of it. In fact, I never want to think of it, but I must now. So please, Minun. Tell me. Tell me so I can help you cheer up, so I can help you heal and be your happy little self again."

I stood for what seemed like hours before I said a single word. But slowly, in bits and pieces, I began to recite my life, all the way up to my parents' death. I spoke of them, of my faint memories of their loving caresses, their gentle, soothing murmurs, their nighttime lullabies. I spoke of the winter, of the plague, of the devastation it caused; but...I suddenly stopped there, right before I had to recount that traumatic episode that still gave me nightmares. I froze: I locked up, I stood there dumbly.

Evie knew what was coming. Somehow, she'd guessed. Perhaps it was because I was suddenly in tears, or perhaps it was because it seemed like my mother's and father's death was inevitable, but somehow, she read the silent message.

"Did they-?" She questioned tearfully. It was all she needed to ask. Through my tears I nodded slowly; reluctantly, even, as if each time I nodded, I was confirming that my parents really were dead, that my parents were really gone and not living happily ever after in "a faraway land".

Then Evie did something very unexpected: she reached forward and wrapped me in a hug. I could feel the wet tear streaks down her face as she silently embraced me. Words couldn't explain the grief we felt, and she didn't try to.

Instead, she silently voiced it through that almost sorrowful hug, as if she was holding onto me tight, afraid she'd lose me too to some monstrous plague that would sweep through the village, taking me away in the middle of the night to some faraway land where I would wither away, never to be seen again.

From then on, Evie became something truly special to us. When she found out about the stressed, chaotic existence I lead in Plusle's overburdened family, she immediately volunteered to move in with me. "Besides," she remarked, "Sol's hut is awfully small, and I need more space for my research." And thus, one day she moved into the spacious, comfortable hut that I used to call home, and could now call home again, to act as my caretaker.

Plusle and I never thought of Evie as a mother - she was still fairly young compared to the old, seasoned adult Pokemon. In all honesty, she was more like a big sister of sorts. That didn't make us adore her less, though, and we constantly showered her with gifts of appreciation.

After Evie took over the responsibility for caring for me, days became much more routine. Evie would rise first - usually before dawn ("An old habit," she'd say), and prepare for the day. By the time I woke up she would be almost ready to go. We'd wolf down a quick breakfast and then head out, her to complete her studies, me to frolic about with Plusle for the rest of the day.

Whenever I didn't feel well, Evie would immediately call the day off and spend all her time by my bedside, worriedly fussing over me, fetching me blankets, preparing all sorts of herbal treatments she'd learned to make. She always worried about my health more than I would expect; but I knew why. At times when I didn't improve she was almost frantic with worry, and it took a large amount of reassurance from me (and often from other Pokemon as well) to calm her down.

Soon, I grew satisfied with my life. Weeks turned into months which turned into years. Evie had originally planned to stay for only a few months, but, as she explained, "I can't just leave you all alone, Minun. I can't." Still, this didn't stop me from feeling bad about the huge sacrifice she was making to ensure the happiness of one small Minun that she didn't even know.

But even though Evie was often around, that didn't stop Plusle from talking about his old dreams. As the years went on, Plusle mentioned the mountain less and less. Sometimes he'd stop talking about it for months at a time, only to revive the subject when I least expected it. We would be discussing something, or skipping down the paths lining the small stone huts of our town, and his eyes would gleam with a sudden energy. Then he'd begin to talk about Boulder Mountain again, speaking animatedly about the hill of silver roses that crowned the round peak.

I'd often ask Evie to try to convince him that it wasn't a good idea, and she'd always give him a sincere talk about why going to Boulder Mountain was, indeed, not a very good idea at all. Plusle hardly listened, though, and mostly wanted her to tell him what exactly the monster was. Evie never answered, either saying she didn't know or that he was young and would be too afraid. This seemed to frustrate Plusle so much that he often shrugged off her patient talks without a second thought. All the while, he never gave up his dream.

I had never expected him to actually try to achieve his dream, though.

But that was exactly what he did.


	3. Boulder Mountain

**Author's Note: This is an especially long chapter, at 4,500+ words. It's also rather depressing. (did I spoil that for you? I hope not.)**

* * *

The day before Plusle's eleventh birthday, he asked me to go with him to Boulder Mountain. "It's going to be my birthday present," he said, smiling slyly. "I want to go up there tomorrow for my birthday. Just this one time, please, Minun?" He begged me.

All day long, I was tormented. I didn't want to go, and I knew the adults, and especially Evie, wouldn't want us to go. The monster would eat us both, I knew. We'd disappear, and Evie would be torn apart with grief. I told Plusle all of this, trying to convince him to change his mind, but nothing seemed to stop him. "I'm going," he finally decided, after I'd pleaded with him for an hour. "Minun, I want to go. I've waited so long. Please, Minun."

We were on a peaceful little hill that had a magnificent view of the mountains around the valley. "It'll be great," he said dreamily. "Besides, I'm bored." A gloomy expression clouded his face. "An adventure sounds great. Going to Boulder Mountain would be really, really fun! Take me there tomorrow, will you, Minun? Please?"

In the end, I reluctantly agreed to go. Now I regret that decision with all my heart, but...there's nothing I can do now.

The next morning, everyone in the village gathered to celebrate Plusle's birthday. It lasted until noon, and not before Plusle and I had eaten our weight in all sorts of delicious treats that Evie had laboriously prepared for us. I'd even discarded an old move and learned how to use Thunderbolt just to create arcs of lightning to impress Plusle.

When the party was over, we pretended to take a nap, waiting for everyone to leave Plusle's home while we sneaked secret grins at each other as we imagined ourselves celebrating as we stood atop Boulder Mountain. I had been nervous and apprehensive the whole morning, but now I only felt a giddy sort of excitement, of adventure.

Finally, it seemed as if we were alone. We snuck stealthily out of the home, avoiding everyone else. There weren't that many Pokemon around, anyway - all the adults were out foraging for berries, and the littler ones were too busy eating leftover treats to notice us. Even Evie wasn't around - she'd gone with Sol to explore the mountains, and wouldn't be back until late afternoon. Soon, we were out of the village. Laughing and giggling, we danced all the way to the hill that overlooked the homes. It was an adventure!

Boulder Mountain loomed up before us. Plusle and I stared in awe at its height. Next to Forbidden Peak it was tiny, but up close, it seemed terrifyingly tall. For a moment, doubt crept into my mind - could we even climb the giant mountain?

Plusle seemed to sense my feeling. "Don't worry, it'll be easy," he assured me confidently. "There's a really, really old trail hidden somewhere. But we'll find it! And it goes all the way up!"

We were just about to head towards the base of Boulder Mountain when Plusle stopped. "Minun, wait," he said, turning around to look at the village one more time. The homes seemed tiny from where we were, all with the yellow clay and thatched roofs that the whole village seemed to be made of.

We stared at it for a moment, wondering if anyone had noticed we'd disappeared, if anyone was looking for us. The village looked so peaceful that it seemed like everything was normal, that life had gone on without us.

Little did I know that for Plusle, it would be the last time he would ever see the village.

The base of Boulder Mountain was made of huge rocks that we couldn't climb. We spent an hour walking along it, trying to find the trail. Eventually, Plusle noticed a small crack between two boulders, and we crawled through it, emerging onto a crudely made path. "See?" He said, smiling cheerfully. "I told you we'd find it! I knew it was somewhere!"

Climbing the trail, though, wasn't so easy. Sometimes it was too steep; other times rocks would block our way, and we'd have to clamber over them, helping each other up. We weren't even halfway up before we had to stop and rest.

The trail lead through a hollow surrounded by boulders on the mountainside, and several berry bushes grew, sheltered from the wind. Plusle and I stopped and snacked on them, taking a break from the tiresome walking and climbing. Soon, though, Plusle urged us on, and we continued our journey.

All that afternoon, we slowly made our way up Boulder Mountain. The berry bushes were all over the mountainside, and the trail took us past many of them. We gorged ourselves with berries the whole way up, laughing and talking about the things we'd do when we were standing at the peak.

Seeing Plusle so excited as he eagerly talked made me laugh and smile along with him. I hadn't felt happier in weeks than now, as we journeyed up towards the peak, laughing and chatting and snacking on berries as we went. It was our own sort of special adventure, away from all the grown-ups and the elders and the whole entire village, climbing all the way up to a magical hill of silver roses and clouds that seemed so close that we could reach out and touch them.

Finally, we seemed to be in sight of the peak. A small mountainside clearing was the only thing that stood in between us and the massive, boulder-like dome of solid rock that rose all the way to the top of Boulder Mountain.

Plusle and I stopped for a while, standing at the edge of the trail. Right beyond us was a steep drop, dozens of feet down the craggy, rocky side. It was as if we were standing at the edge of the world, looking down at the vast expanse below us, and only the clouds had a higher, grander view.

"It's amazing," Plusle murmured breathlessly.

"What's amazing, Plusle?" I asked.

"Everything is. The mountains. The sky. The clouds. All of our walking and climbing and searching made me really tired, but..." he trailed off, thinking. "You know, Minun, I think it was worth it. We climbed a mountain, Minun! We climbed Boulder Mountain!"

Turning to me, he smiled, and repeated a phrase that had become our own special saying that no one else knew, that only we shared ever since the first time we met:

"I did it, Minun!" He exclaimed.

"I did it, Plusle!" I replied. It always made me happy to hear him say that, even though I'd heard it for what seemed like a thousand times.

We sat by the edge of the trail for a while. Maybe it was a few minutes, or a few hours; I couldn't tell. All I could feel was the happiness coursing through me: the exhilarating feel of climbing a mountain. And not just any mountain, but Boulder Mountain! To Plusle and I, it was our own little Forbidden Peak: the mountain we couldn't explore, the mountain we thought it would be impossible to climb. Yet here we were, sitting near the top, looking down into the valley below, celebrating by eating the berries we'd discovered only because we decided to challenge ourselves to do the impossible.

It all seemed so unreal. Had we really done it? Had we really climbed Boulder Mountain? Yes, we had, I decided. We'd really done it. We'd really made it to the top, to the hill of silver roses.

After what seemed like an eternity, Plusle slowly got up. "Minun," he said, "we're almost at the top." Pointing at the dome of rock, he murmured, "The hill is at the top of the giant boulder. Do you remember? You promised me a silver rose, Minun." He smiled. "Will you get me one now?"

We fell silent as we stood at the edge of the rocky clearing. Looking at the rocky dome, I noticed what seemed like steps. They were worn and old, but it really did look like someone had carved a trail into the giant boulder a long time ago. Had someone been here before us? Had they tried to reach the hill, too? I shrugged. There wasn't any way to tell, and besides, the clearing itself was more interesting.

I took a closer look at the clearing. Cracks ran along the ground, splitting the massive chunks of rock into huge pieces. Right across the clearing from us was a wide, open entrance into a murky, dark cave.

For a moment, I thought fearfully of the monster - did it live in there? Was it going to eat us? I shuddered as I thought of never going back home, but I determinedly shoved those thoughts away. Plusle and I'd already gone so far, and we weren't going to back off because of some monster, no matter how scary it was.

The most interesting thing was the boulder in the center of the clearing. It was sunken halfway into the stony ground, with pebbles packed around its base. It seemed strangely round, like a sphere, and gave off a mysterious, deep luster that made it look like a giant dark gemstone. I'd just turned to ask Plusle if he knew what it was when he suddenly started off towards the boulder, as if he was entranced.

I still remember what happened next. I remember it so clearly, so vividly, as if it had only happened yesterday and the horrible memory was still painfully fresh, seared in my mind by what had happened on that fateful day, the day we tried to climb Boulder Mountain.

Plusle made his way over to the boulder, examining it curiously. I took a few steps towards him, unsure of what he was doing. He stared at the polished surface for a moment, admiring at how it shimmered and shined in the blazing, golden sunset. Reaching out, he touched the boulder ever so gently, gliding over its smooth, cool surface.

Something stirred inside the boulder. It was a subtle movement: the surface of the stone seemed to swirl a little, as if something inside was probing at where Plusle's hand had been. He continued as if he hadn't noticed, but I had. Something wasn't right, I decided. I stepped towards him, trying to tell him about what happened, that the boulder wasn't really a boulder, that it was something else, something alive.

That's when I felt it. It was a little tremor at first, as if the mountain was shivering in the wind, but it quickly grew. The ground began to rumble; stones danced frantically on the ground as it quaked violently. I backed away, yelling at Plusle to run. He stood, frozen, for a few moments' more; I rushed forward and shoved at him desperately, but he didn't seem to hear me pleading with him to run, to get away from here, away from the clearing, away from it all.

Suddenly, the ground seemed to split in half as a giant Pokemon emerged from the ground with a huge roar that almost blew me to the ground. Looking up, I saw a giant pile of rocks, swaying in the air, raising itself above the clearing. I was so terrified I could barely think - what was this monster? It seemed to have a tail and a head, like a snake, but it was made entirely of rocks! Never had I ever seen anything like it, and at that moment I knew why the adults had always told us to stay away from Boulder Mountain, and why they feared it themselves so much.

The monster let off several more terrifying roars, which seemed to snap Plusle out of his spell. He quickly dove to the side, just in time to avoid being crushed as the monster slammed its rocky tail down where he had been a second ago. Without speaking a word - I doubt that I could hear him above the roars of the monster, anyway - Plusle gestured at me to follow him. The monster lashed out with the huge boulders that made up its tail, narrowly missing us as we ran towards a small bluff that rose above the clearing.

We hid behind the bluff, not knowing what the monster would do. It seemed to be guessing at where we were, turning in confused circles, slamming its tail against the ground, roaring in frustration. I turned to see Plusle shaking violently, and I realized I was also quivering in fear. Sometimes we saw huge, wild Pokemon roaming the fields at night, hunting for prey, but we'd only ever heard of Pokemon this massive when the elders talked of legendaries.

Plusle seemed at lost of what to do. We couldn't go back down - there didn't seem to be any way to avoid being seen, not with the monster camped out right where we'd ran up. If we stayed, it would find us eventually - already, it was raising itself into the air, twisting its huge boulder of a head, glaring at the landscape. It was as if we were trapped, and there was no way out.

I turned to look at Plusle. He was hunched over; small, crackling balls of electricity arced from his hands. He was using Charge: one of his moves that didn't seem to do anything. I stared at him, wanting to ask a question, but afraid that the monster would hear.

It took me a while to realize what he was doing - he'd remarked to me once that the reason he kept Charge (over more useful moves that the grownups wanted to teach him) was because "it makes me feel very powerful, Minun." Maybe that was what he was trying to do: make himself stronger. I doubted it'd do anything, though, since the monster was so huge - but maybe Plusle was up to something that I couldn't even guess at. Maybe he had a plan all along.

Plusle gestured at me. We couldn't talk; he could only give me silent commands, something that seemed to frustrate him. It was hard to guess at what he was trying to say; we were so used to talking that it felt like ages since we'd had to do anything like this. He seemed to be pointing at my hands, as if he wanted me to use Charge - the one move I'd discarded only that morning, thinking it was useless, that it was good for nothing.

Desperately, I tried to remember how to Charge. It seemed so simple, so basic, but it seemed just out of reach, buried just deep enough that I couldn't dig it out no matter how hard I tried. It was maddening, and I didn't realize I was shaking my head in fury until Plusle poked me in the side. He was gesturing frantically for me to Charge, and all I could do was shaking my head, pointing at myself, hoping he'd understand that I just couldn't do it, that I'd forgotten how, that I was sorry, but there was nothing I could do anymore!

I suddenly unleashed a huge thunderbolt, all of my fury and frustration and hatred for that monster flowing out of me in a single instant, channeling into a single, powerful lightning strike that rose into the evening sky. For an instant, everything was a blinding white as time seemed to stop. The cool, evening air around me crackled with electricity, sizzling with the amount of power that flowed through it, coursing high into the sky.

Instantly, I could hear the furious roar of the monster as it reared up on its rocky body, staring straight at the bluff where I'd accidentally let loose all of my power. Plusle reacted just as swiftly: right before the monster could swing its huge tail at us, he jumped up and released all of his charge as a painfully bright flash of light. Blinded, the monster roared in agony and slammed its tail wildly on the ground as Plusle and I rushed down the bluff, towards the trail.

We were almost there. We were so very close that it seemed like a mere dozen steps before we reached the trail, before we reached the path down the mountain, away from the clearing, from the boulder, from the terrible monster that roared and slammed its massive tail and tried to kill us, just for daring to climb Boulder Mountain.

Then Plusle fell.

At first, I didn't notice; I was too busy running desperately towards the trail. Then I turned and saw him sprawled on the ground. He cried out in pain, as if he had broken his foot. Looking up, he reached out his hand, his eyes silently pleading with me to help him.

For a moment, I was paralyzed in fear - the monster was rising behind him, a look of pure evil in its eyes as it raised its tail to smash him. I knew then. Staring into those gruesome, enraged eyes, I knew it was going to kill him.

Suddenly, I ran forward. I didn't care about my own safety anymore; that was quickly pushed to the back of my mind. The only thought in my head was to rescue Plusle, no matter what. Everything seemed to slow down and disappear - only Plusle and the monster remained, frozen in time, as I ran towards them. He was right there, only a few feet away, and no matter what, I was going to reach him before the monster did.

I was right beside him now. He reached out his arm, stretching as far as his hand would go. Somewhere, the monster roared. It was approaching, quickly closing the gap between us, rearing up into the air. But all I saw was Plusle's outstretched hand - and I brought mine down, reaching towards him.

And missed.

A brief touch, the tips of our hands brushing so maddeningly close was all I felt before my arm flew past. I started to run again, but stopped. For a second, I was confused - where was Plusle's hand? Hadn't I grasped it? Hadn't I helped him up, so we could escape from Boulder Mountain forever?

Then the horror dawned on me. Somehow, I'd missed! Quickly, I rushed back. Grabbing Plusle firmly, I began to drag him towards the trail. It'd never occurred to me that Plusle was so heavy - and no matter how hard I struggled, I could barely move him.

Suddenly, a terrifying sound erupted from what seemed like right above us. The ground trembled violently. I could barely move; I was struggling to stay standing. I knew it - I knew that it was the end, but I carried on, not caring that the monster was smashing its tail on the ground and missing us by mere inches.

Somehow, Plusle knew, too. He knew it was over. It was too late. Even if we made it to the trail, the monster, the enraged beast would get us. We almost had a chance, but one sharp rock, one caught foot had ended it.

Just as I pulled as hard as I could, Plusle strained to look to his right. A horrified expression came on his face. It was a look of desperation, of panic, of pure, raw terror. I would never forget that face, and it still sends chills down my spine whenever I remember.

At that moment, Plusle let go.

Everything seemed to slow down. I remember the shock, the surprise I felt as I staggered back. Why had Plusle let go? Didn't he want to escape? I surged back forward, reaching out to grab him, but he raised his arms up, as if to block me.

Something moved in my peripheral vision. I could see it out of my right eye. It was gray and massive, slowly beginning to make its way across my view, like a dark cloud blocking out the sun. With one swift motion, Plusle mustered all of his energy and shoved me away, just as the massive tail of the monster swung by a mere inch from my face. I clamped my hands over my face in fear, but I could still feel the gentle whoosh of air it flew by: death barely brushing the surface of my face as it continued onwards, past me.

When I opened my eyes, Plusle was gone.

Frantically, I looked around for him. Where was he? He couldn't have disappeared, and the monster couldn't have done away with him that fast...could it? A chilling thought began to creep into my mind. Had the monster flung Plusle off the mountain? I remembered the steep drop beyond the trail. It was at least a few dozen feet. Plusle could never survive that, even if he had lived through the impact of the tail.

I finally caught sight of something laying on the ground, near the middle of the clearing. It seemed so small, so tiny, so crumpled that at first I didn't even think it was a Pokemon, that it could ever be anything even close. I strained to get a better look, and a terrifying feeling of despair crushed my heart.

It was Plusle, sprawled out on the ground, limp and broken.

Instantly, rage rushed through me. How- how could that monster! He was Plusle! He was my friend, he was my companion! He was my soulmate, and now he was gone, and all it took was one deadly swipe from the monster's tail to end his whole entire life.

I was so choked with rage that I couldn't think anymore. Never before had I felt such a powerful surge of anger, of desperation, of grief. It couldn't be happening. Plusle couldn't have died just like that! He was always so energetic, so full of life that surely one blow wouldn't end it all, wouldn't rob him of everything. And yet, there he was, a mere few dozen feet from me, his skin already paling, the color already fading from his vibrant red tail.

At that moment, I might have been killed. I might have charged right into the throes of death, right into that infernal monster. I might have attacked him with all my might, tears streaming down my face as I remembered Plusle's last moment, that look of horror on his face the second that he realized it was the end. I might have joined him in the center of the clearing, lifeless, rich red blood flowing out of gashes all over my body that had been inflicted by the monster's massive, cruel tail.

I might have died that day, too, if I hadn't remembered one important thing.

Plusle's last act was to shove me away from harm's reach. He'd sacrificed himself to keep me alive. He'd paid the ultimate price just to let me live, and I had made him do it. I was the one that blundered. I was the one that failed to charge, that foiled his plan to defeat the monster. I was the one that didn't notice when he fell, and who missed, and who couldn't even drag him to safety, protecting him when he needed it the most.

And now he was gone forever.

I stood still, unable to move for hours, a hollow emptiness in me that I couldn't explain. Voices in my head screamed for me to run, to hide, to escape, but I didn't obey. They sounded so small, so tiny and insignificant that I almost couldn't hear them at all. I just didn't care anymore. Ignoring the voices, I stood rooted to the spot, watching the monster do its work with a morbid, strangely fascinated sort of curiosity.

The monster never attacked me; it was too busy smashing Plusle's lifeless corpse over and over, the ground shaking each time it brought its huge, rocky tail down, inflicting even more damage to the limp form lying on the ground.

Eventually, I started to make my way down the mountain. I walked aimlessly, not caring that rocks were cutting into the bottom of my feet, not caring that soon the air became a biting cold as sunset approached.

Farther down the mountain I stumbled upon a cave that I hadn't noticed before. Set into the craggy mountainside a bit away from the trail, its entrance was an ugly, gaping hole, lined with boulders and jagged, sharp rocks. Standing at the edge, I peered for a second into the pitch-black darkness. A few minutes passed before I started to feel that something was wrong. But what was it?

Slowly, it came to me. Staring into the cave, into the dark abyss that threatened to swallow me, engulfing me in shadow, a terrifying realization formed in my mind: I wasn't scared of the darkness anymore. It used to be my worst enemy: at night, I'd often send sparks up at the ceiling of my small room just to make sure nothing was hiding in the dark. But now, standing at the edge of the cave, I felt an emptiness in me where all the apprehension, all the imagined horrors had been.

I no longer feared anything. Plusle's death had such a profound impact on me that nothing could ever compare to it. Nothing would ever scare me again.

A giddy feeling rose in me. I suddenly ran right into the cave, right into the murky shroud of darkness, giggling uncontrollably. This new feeling - of fearlessness, of absolute bravery - it felt so strange, so alien that it seemed like hours before I stopped running carelessly in the dark, bumping into the rough cavern walls, occasionally letting out short bursts of loud, harsh laughter. I couldn't get enough of the feeling! It was strangely enjoyable; addictive, even, to be able to run all around the dark without being scared for the first time. I knew I'd never be the same again.

After a while it seemed like my whole body was screaming with an agonizing exhaustion. I crept to the edge of the cave and looked out into the cool, night sky. The last, faint traces of sunset were rapidly vanishing from the sky. A smooth, roundish rock sat nearby, and I pulled myself up on top of it, curling up into a ball, rocking my giddily empty self back and forth slowly as I watched the sky darken.

In the distance, I could hear the monster roar one last time, the loud sound resonating across the valley, only to echo back right into the cave, right into my head.

"Plusle!" I suddenly thought.

At that moment, I fell apart as Plusle's death came rushing back into my head. Suddenly, I found myself sobbing, an unspeakably deep grief welling up, threatening to swallow me, engulfing me until there was nothing left of my tiny body. There was only one thing that mattered now, that I kept refusing to acknowledge, but it was inevitable now: Plusle was dead. He was gone.

Gone like the cool, autumn winds that swept past our village, past the beautiful meadows, only to be shattered by the cruel, rocky mountains that rose, motionless and tall, standing guard over the fragile existence of the valley that so many called home.

Gone like the pretty flowers that he used to gather for me, before winter approached and they shriveled and died, their lifeless forms buried under the thick mounds of icy white snow. Forgotten by all the little Pokemon that used to frolic and play in them, laughing and giggling during the brief summer season. Forgotten by everyone, by the whole world.

He was gone, and no matter what I did, I couldn't bring him back.

I spent the night in that cave, staring out straight into the dark sky. Occasionally I would drift into dark, dreamless sleep, but I'd always wake up suddenly, with the terrifying feeling that something horrible had happened, only to remember Plusle's death.

At the first hint of dawn, I rose and began to walk. To where I had no idea, only that I had to get away from the mountain. I followed the trail for awhile before I realized I had been going back up the mountain, subconsciously trying to go back to Plusle, to go back in time in some absurd hope that he was somehow alive, even after the monster had abused his fragile body until it no longer resembled anything like him.

Wordlessly, I turned around and began to head back down the mountain, towards the valley, towards the village, towards my home.

* * *

It was mid-morning when I arrived. I made my way through the village, unnoticed by everyone, to a certain two-story hut. For the most part, though it was round and made of stone like all the others, with a thatched roof of dried, whitish-yellow grain stalks, but it was special. It was the one I'd lived in ever since I'd hatched from the festively colored egg of a Minun.

But now...now, as I stared at the hut, it didn't seem like home anymore. It didn't have the familiarity, the warmth, the loving reassurance that everything was safe. I entered, looking around the main room that took up most of the first floor. There was the rug, worn and old, but reliable. There were the windows that Plusle and I had often waved out to passerby from. There were the rough-hewn wooden chairs, and the scratchy but comfortable pillows Evie had thoughtfully placed on them so we wouldn't get splinters.

They all seemed so familiar...and yet so alien at the same time, as if I was staring at a replica of the room that was so maddeningly similar, and yet different, in a way.

Different because Plusle was no longer around to roll around in the rug with me. Plusle was no longer around to wave at the rescue teams that passed by on their way to Forbidden Peak, not knowing that they'd always come down defeated. Plusle was no longer around to sit in those chairs with me, chatting excitedly with Evie as she prepared her delicious berry cakes for us to eat.

Plusle was gone, and it seemed like part of the house, a part of the village, a part of the sky, a part of the world had died with him.


	4. Aftermath

"Minun!"

It was a while after that I heard the scream.

I recognized the voice immediately: Evie. I'd just started to raise myself from one of the chairs when she came, bounding through the door, and seized me tightly in her arms.

"Oh Minun! Where have you been? I've looked all around for you- I was so frantic- helped searched the fields, but you weren't there- so scared, you know? I- we noticed you were gone, and when we still hadn't found you by nightfall and- oh, you have no idea how terrified I was when I heard you'd gone to Boulder Mountain!" She gushed.

I merely nodded, my gaze wandering off aimlessly.

For a while Evie held me in her embrace, not saying a word. Then something seemed to come to her mind:

"Minun? Where's Plusle?" She asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

Evie stared for a long moment. Suddenly, tears began to form in her calm blue eyes. "He's not-" she stuttered, but I merely nodded, confirming her worst thoughts, her worst nightmares. "Oh Minun...I'm so sorry...I-" She held me as she cried, streams flowing down her face, wrenched in an expression so grief-stricken I began to sob as well. It was unsettling; disturbing, even, to see cool, calm Evie so...so broken, so defeated.

There were voices nearby now. They were coming towards the door, and Evie stood up, wiping the tears from her face, trying to regain her composure.

Three Pokemon entered the house - a plusle, a pichu, and a fearow. I recognized the plusle and the pichu as Plusle's mother and father, and the old fearow, called Albert, was the village elder. Plusle's parents, who seemed equally shocked and worried, were the first to speak:

"Where is Plusle?"

Evie burst into tears again at the mention of his name. The father stepped forward, but Albert extended one of his elegant, long wings.

"So you've found little Minun," he murmured, his piercing grey eyes gentle and understanding. Evie nodded through her tears.

Albert waved aside the parents. "Perhaps it would do you some good to get some fresh air outside, if you please," he said. It wasn't a question, and reluctantly they made their way back out of the house. Albert took a second to make sure they weren't listening in from nearby, before turning to me.

"Minun, please tell me exactly what happened."

It was almost a command, though a gentle one, but I recoiled, not wanting to recount the events, not wanting to relive the horrors that had happened only yesterday, and were still raw and fresh in my mind.

"Don't worry, you're not in any trouble at all," Albert reassured me soothingly. "Take all the time you need."

It was a while before I said anything. At first all I could utter was choked sounds, but gradually my sobbing eased. My voice sounded disturbingly strange: dull, muted, and monotonous, lacking that fun sort of tone that Plusle always loved to comment about, but I forced myself to continue on. In bits and pieces, it all came out: Plusle asking me to take him to Boulder Mountain, the birthday party, the trail, and the long, tiresome climb that took us the whole afternoon.

Then came the part that I dreaded, that I feared. That I never wanted to recount, that I never wanted to relive again.

I spoke of the mysterious stone, and how Plusle seemed to be hypnotized by it. Albert seemed to nod knowingly, but didn't speak, so I went on. Through choked sobs - just thinking about it had sent grief welling up in me again - I explained as best as I could, with as many details I could manage without breaking down from the sheer, raw, painful memory.

I explained how Plusle had meant to charge himself for something ("A clever technique," Albert remarked. "He meant to blind the predator."), and how I'd replaced my Charge move with Thunderbolt to impress him for his birthday. I spoke with such bitterness that Albert raised a feathery wing to stop me.

"You can't change the past," he said soothingly. It was one of his favorite phrases that I often overheard him repeating to distraught Pokemon. "Don't feel hatred towards yourself. You had good intentions, I'm sure." He smiled slightly. "And besides, you made him happy, even if only for a moment, Minun, and you know how much Plusle loves to be happy."

I went on to describe what happened afterward. Plusle using all his stored up energy to blind the monster. Our desperate run. Plusle tripping. And, in that one moment, the one moment that mattered, I missed.

Evie burst into tears when I described Plusle's last moments. How, unable to move, he glanced off to his side, a look of chilling terror coming over his face. How, at the last moment, he chose to shove me away, saving me from the monster. How, in one vicious swipe, the monster knocked Plusle unconscious. How it'd smashed Plusle's body over and over; every roar, every glare, every bone-crushing slam full of white-hot anger that seemed to charge the air with pure hate until it almost crackled.

And how I knew at that moment that Plusle was dead.

Albert listened intently, showing little emotion. Although he tried to seem the calm, collected elder, once or twice I thought I saw a hint of tears in his eyes, as though even he couldn't bear to listen to Plusle's final moments. For a while, he didn't speak, as if he was quietly reflecting on some thought. Evie continued to sob silently, and briefly Albert raised his wing, as if to comfort her, but decided against it.

Eventually, Albert seemed to reach some sort of decision. "I shall go and fetch the parents," he said softly. He turned to leave, but then he paused, looking at me. "Minun, I want you to understand one thing," he said seriously. I nodded, although I doubted I could understand anything now. Nothing made sense anymore without Plusle.

"It was Plusle's decision to go to the mountains, Minun. It was not yours." He said. "You merely accompanied him, out of friendship and the curiosity that is mutual between you two."

For a second, I thought about what he said. A quiet anger began to rise in me as I realized what he was doing: he was trying to blame Plusle for all of it! He was trying to make it seem like it was all his fault, when it was more mine than his that he never left Boulder Mountain alive. Plusle was dead! He was gone, and all Albert wanted to do was try to find someone to blame.

Albert must have sensed my thoughts from the look on my face, because he quickly added, "Please don't misunderstand. I didn't mean to blame him, not at all. I merely meant that you shouldn't blame yourself, because neither of you could've ever known what would eventually happen.

You were two young, feisty Pokemon who were curious about anything and everything, and no amount of persuasion would've kept you away from Boulder Mountain. There simply wasn't any way to avoid it. If it hadn't been then, I can assure you it would have happened later." With that, he turned and left.

A moment's silence fell over the room, permeated with Evie's heavy sniffling. Perhaps it was because she was a vaporeon, but on the rare occasions that Evie cried, it would take hours for her to stem the gushing torrents of tears. Now, though, she seemed to have amazing control, and I soon found out why.

Barely a minute later, Albert reemerged with Plusle's parents, who seemed even more pale and worried than before. He whispered gently into their ears. Suddenly, Plusle's mother let out a loud wail, and his father gasped.

I knew then that he was telling them about how Plusle died.

It was a while before Plusle's parents calmed down enough to speak. Plusle's mother tried not to glare at me, but it was all to obvious: she blamed me for Plusle's death. Plusle's father was more reasonable: he merely shook his head, muttering about Boulder Mountain.

Finally, they departed, Plusle's mother sobbing, while his father, through his tears, merely echoed the same sentiments Albert had said earlier: "We mustn't blame them for this. Plusle and Minun were children; they are always curious. It is only natural. The only ones to blame for this is us, for not teaching them. We only warned them, we only told them to stay away. That only fueled their curiosity. Had we told them of the true nature of that monster, this tragedy would have never happened."


	5. Gray Skies

The skies were a bleak shade of gray. They always were, now.

In the days ahead, everything seemed lifeless, devoid of color, of meaning. I spent most of my waking hours staring out of my tiny window at the fields. Just like before, the gentle grasses swayed in the wind: only, now, it seemed so different. Now, it only brought painful memories, memories of the time before.

Where was Plusle? Where was he to laugh, and run around, and wander the fields with me? Where was he to listen to Evie's stories with me, to share her delicious meals, to join me on her expeditions?

Where was he?

Sometimes I wished I could disappear, just like him. Sometimes, I hated staring out into those fields. I hated living. Nothing seemed real anymore: everywhere, everything only reminded me of when Plusle was alive.

Sleep didn't bring any relief, either. Nightmares plagued my unconsciousness. They were always the same: Plusle and I would be talking happily. Then, a dark shadow would descend from the sky, coming straight at us, while Plusle carried on, unaware, as I froze in fear. In a split second, it would swoop by, clutching him in its claws, and he would be gone forever, leaving me all alone.

Sometimes, I would lay awake whole nights, afraid to sleep, knowing that soon, I'd have to face the all too familiar nightmare again.

Weeks turned to months. Evie and I had always been close, but now, she seemed to keep her distance. She knew I was grieving, and tried to give me some space. But now, more than ever, I needed her support. I needed her kindness, her caring nature, only to find her retreating, leaving me with a terrible loneliness. I tried to catch her whenever I could: even though she got up much earlier than me, even though she wouldn't return until late at night, when I was writhing in my sleep, whimpering through the horrors that the nightmare forced me to relive daily.

Then I fell sick.

It only took a minute for Albert to diagnose it as stress. "To put it lightly, Minun is extremely stressed," Albert told a frantic Evie. "He's suffering from agitation and worry. Tell me, Evie, how is his life so far?" Evie briefly spoke of our schedule: she would wake up before dawn, make our meals, eat breakfast, and leave on her studying trips before I woke up. The whole day would pass by, and I'd go to sleep hours before she returned, long after midnight.

Albert merely nodded, thinking. Finally, he spoke: "Minun suffers from loneliness, Evie. He is still pained by Plusle's death, and needs your support." He looked into Evie's eyes. "Promise me, Evie, that you will spend time with him. I understand it might be hard for you: I can see you are grieving, and as a result, you pour all your effort into work. But you may be harming Minun more than you can imagine. You are his caretaker, and right now, more than ever, he needs all the time and love you can spare."

From then on, Evie spent as much of the day with me as she could, canceling everything she could: all of her studying trips, her appointments, even the wilderness expeditions I knew she loved. I often spent hours nestled in her arms, not saying anything, and at night, she would sit and read by my bed, before sleeping with me. Soon, the nightmares stopped coming, and I began to feel better as the days passed.

The day came for Plusle's funeral. Plusle's parents asked me where he would've liked to be buried, and without a doubt I told them: the hill where we'd spent so many years, where we'd laughed and played and danced in the wind, where we'd looked down at the village for one last time on that fateful day.

The ceremony was simple: a small gravestone was erected on the top of the hill, and Albert said a few words over it, mostly about how Plusle was so vibrant and alive, and how unfortunate it was for him to have died. I don't think I even listened: all my thoughts were on Plusle, on his laugh, his smile, all the times we'd had together before he died.

The final part of the ceremony involved all of us planting seeds around the hill. They would grow into those berries (which Evie identified as Sitrus berries) that Plusle and I had enjoyed eating on our way up Boulder Mountain.

In the months ahead, I would often visit his grave, looking at the hill, covered in the Sitrus berry bushes. It was a beautiful sight, but...to me, it didn't feel complete.

It would never feel complete, not until silver roses grew there, like Plusle had always wanted.


	6. The Rescue Team

One day a few months later, all of us heard that a mysterious rescue team had arrived in the village.

My first reaction was to shrug carelessly. What fun were they, anymore? Why should I care? Plusle wasn't around to run with me, all the way to them, to cheer at the newcomers. But Evie insisted we go and greet the travelers - and so off we went, joining the crowd that watched as several Pokemon walked down the road.

There were several new ones I couldn't recognize, and Evie identified them for me: "There's an absol," she said, pointing at the tall, regal, Pokemon with snow-white fur that led the procession. "There's a hitmonlee. Here comes a charizard." On and on she went, until close to a dozen Pokemon had gathered in the middle of the village square.

Albert rushed forward to greet the absol. I could tell they were old friends, although I'd never seen the absol in all the years I'd lived in the village. The two conversed for a while, Albert nodding frequently, while the absol spoke in such a quiet tone that nobody could hear him except the old fearow.

They seemed to reach some sort of agreement, and the absol headed back to his group. In a hushed murmur, he whispered something to them, and they quickly dispersed away from the square, most heading towards Boulder Mountain. The absol himself quickly looked around the crowd, scanning all the Pokemons' faces, before he began to make his way in the opposite direction, straight towards us.

As he neared, we stepped aside to let him pass. The absol passed right by me - and suddenly, he stopped, examining my face, his fiery red eyes unreadable. For a whole minute he held his gaze, and then he broke away. "You are the one," he said simply, and left.

I tried asking Evie what he meant, but she seemed as confused as I was. "That absol - I don't know him," she told me. "I've heard of a legendary absol called Ice who trains Pokemon and helps them form elite rescue teams - but I'm sure that's not him. Ice's eyes are blue."

I shrugged. "Oh well," I concluded. "It's really not that big of a deal, anyway. Besides, you told me absol are mysterious," I said. "Maybe he's just being an absol."

What I didn't know was that it would turn out to be a big deal.

A few days later, we saw the absol again - this time, he was roaming the fields aimlessly, ever so often glancing at Boulder Mountain as he concentrated on thinking. I spied him as soon as Evie and I entered the rolling, hilly fields, and before she could stop me I'd ran all the way up to him and started to ask him questions.

"Why are you here?" I asked. "Do you know Albert?"

"He is my friend." The absol said. "My team - you have seen them yesterday - are guarding your village from the monster. I have reason to believe it may attack."

"Oh. And, what did you mean when you said I was 'the one'?"

The absol stared at me for a long moment. Finally, he spoke. "Albert informed me that the monster had already taken one young life. He mentioned that one among the crowd was the dead child's friend, but would not reveal the identity."

The absol paused for a second. "I have lived a long time, long enough to tell by your expression and mannerisms. A quick scan of the crowd revealed to me only one option: you. You are a minun; it is exceedingly rare to see you without your partner Pokemon, Plusle, who must've died by the hand of the monster. Minun are usually outgoing; yet, you hid slightly behind your vaporeon caretaker, because you were scared - perhaps of strangers like me, since you are still afraid from your friend's death.

"And what final proof did I have?" The absol smiled. "My old friend Albert forgets that I can read his expression. When he spoke to me about the dead child, he unconsciously glanced at the parents in the crowd - a Plusle and a Pichu - as if he wasn't sure he was violating their privacy by revealing such a fact to me. Perhaps this was why he did not give me the friend's identity - but ah, I had already figured it out."

He turned away, staring towards Forbidden Peak.

"They say that this mountain is a popular challenge for rescue teams," he noted. "Is that true?"

"Yes!" I replied. "It's always fun to cheer on the strong Pokemon that come here to try to fight their way up the mountain!" I paused. "Or...well, it was fun, before...before-"

Absol chuckled, ignoring my anguished expression. "I would expect you to do as such. These rescue teams, they are so foolish - again and again they try. However, what they do not know is that Forbidden Peak is a unique dungeon - a survival dungeon. There is no final floor, no escape. You are expected to fight for as long as possible."

He sighed. "If only they would take some time to explore around the base instead of charging straight into the entrance, they would find, hidden at the back, a relatively steep but easily climbable mountain trail that snakes all the way to the top. That is the only possibility of success."

"There's a trail to the top of Boulder Mountain, too," I added.

He nodded. "Of course. I know that trail by heart, although I do not climb it. The Pokemon that lives at the top is a huge and mighty beast - I would rather not challenge it at this time," he said, looking away.

Never before had I seen an embarrassed absol - but here he was, trying to hide the faint blushing visible through his snowy white fur. I was amazed - it seemed to be a once in a lifetime thing to see absol, the most serious Pokemon of them all, blushing red. Still, already I was thinking about what he said. Was the monster really so powerful that not even he could fight it? I shuddered, suppressing the dark memories of the time that I had tried, and failed.

"It's alright," I said soothingly. "At least you didn't end up- didn't get-"

I tried to stop myself before thoughts of Plusle could rush into my mind. Thankfully, Blood immediately looked beyond me, focusing on the Pokemon coming up the hill to us.

"Minun!" Evie called, as she ran to us. "So there you are!" She said to me, smiling.

The absol turned to look at Evie. "So this is the vaporeon," he observed. "Greetings, madam."

Evie dipped her head. "Hello."

The absol didn't respond, merely examining her face. "Although we have never met, you believe I am familiar to you somehow," he finally said.

Evie seemed slightly surprised. "Yes...you do, in a way. Are you, by any chance, related to Ice?"

Smiling, the absol nodded. "Ice is my brother. I am Blood." Seeing Evie's slightly uncomfortable face, Blood added, "I understand if you're repulsed by my name, but it does not mean what I can see you believe it means. My father, Sun, named me Blood because I was related by blood to a noble lineage, unlike my brother Ice, of whom was birthed by a different mother."

Seeming slightly relieved, Evie nodded. "Are you here to visit Albert?"

Blood shook his head. "No. Currently my team defends this village-" He turned towards Boulder Mountain. "-from that beast."

"Oh?" Evie asked, concerned. "It's not going to come down here, is it?"

"Well, we don't know," Blood admitted. "It's going through- well, a 'phase', so to speak. It usually won't leave its mountain, but now it might, since it's more protective. Albert is worried it might even see the village as a threat and destroy it."

Evie did seem very agitated at the word 'destroy'. Blood noticed immediately.

"You don't need to worry," Blood reassured her. "My team is strong enough to hold it off should it approach, if not kill it altogether."

"Why not directly attack it?" Evie asked.

Blood seemed uncomfortable, just as he had when he'd talked about the trail. "Well...we would rather not- you see-"

Evie smiled. "I think I know."

Blood quickly turned away as he flushed a shade of pink. "It's not that we're not strong enough."

"Then why?" Evie asked.

"Right now, the beast is very protective of its home. The closer it is to its home, the stronger it will be. Normally we would be able to defeat it, but now that it's fully into its phase, it's unusually strong. If we tried to confront it at the mountain, I don't think we would make it out alive." Blood paused, and a slight smile came to his face. "Besides, I am not Ice. I don't achieve impossible miracles."

Blood turned to look at the mountain. "If it does decide to come out, we'll act swiftly. If it doesn't, then we wait. With how unpredictable it is, nobody can know. Maybe it will never leave the mountain, and its phase will fade. Your village should be safe then."

For the next few weeks, Blood was a somewhat common sight around the village. Evie and I never saw him walking out in the open - instead, he seemed to prefer to stealthily travel through the tiny alley spaces in between the village homes. Often, we would be strolling down the street when I would spy a bright flash of snow white fur between two huts, only look and find nothing. Evie often talked to him - he seemed to know a lot about the village, including things the valley's elders hadn't told us.

We learned, among other things, that the village had been twice destroyed by the rampaging monster, that there were secret tunnels under the village that helped the villagers survive the attacks, and that Albert wasn't as experienced as he liked to appear - in fact, Blood said, Albert was barely nearing Level 50 (he quickly regretted bringing up the subject when we asked what level he was - he mumbled something about levels and how they didn't really matter anyway, to which Evie smirked).

Sometimes, Blood would sit and tell me stories of his adventures - mostly involving rescuing Pokemon from harrowing places. Still, some of them were interesting - he recalled a time where he discovered Ice trying to cause an avalanche by launching shadow balls at the mountainside they grew up on, and he told me about how he once found fifteen apples in one dungeon room - although from what little Evie had told me about the dungeons, I knew that probably wasn't exactly true.

Soon, the month was coming to an end. One day Blood announced that he was leaving with his team. "The beast's protective phase is ebbing away," he said. "We will return to rescuing Pokemon now."

I was sad to see him go, but the first chance he got, he extended an offer to me. "Minun," he said, "By any chance, would you be interested in coming with me?"

"To do what?" I asked. Already, worry was clouding my mind as I thought of what might happen.

"Well...like my brother Ice, I train Pokemon," he said. "I could train you to be a fighter, so you can defeat the beast that killed Plusle."

I was silent, not expecting him to bring up Plusle. Blood waited a moment, and suggested, "Just...give it a thought. You don't have to say yes. I just want to give you a chance to avenge his death."

Later, when I'd told Evie what he'd said, I was surprised to hear her thoughts. "It's a good idea," she said. "There's not many chances you get to be trained by a master like Blood."

"But I'll have to leave you!" I protested.

Evie sighed, her face regretful. "Yes, I know," she said. "You will have to leave me. I can't go with you; knowing the nature of dedicated trainers, they usually don't allow anybody but trainees."

I thought about it for a moment. Evie was my caretaker, and my only friend after Plusle died. She'd cared for me for four years now, and we'd shared so much - together we went on her trips. Together, we explored the valley, collecting facts and specimens for her studies. Together, we lived life in the two-story hut that I called home, and so did she. Her love was steadfast, even after Plusle died and some still blamed me for it.

I'd made my decision.

"No," I said resolutely. "I'm not leaving you, Evie."


	7. Separation

A moment's silence passed between us. Then, to my surprise, Evie shook her head.

"Minun," she started. "I appreciate your loyalty, but...I think it would still be better for us all if you would take his offer."

Horrified, I couldn't speak as she continued. "You're getting older, Minun, and I can't care for you forever. In one month you turn twelve. What will you do with your life? Rescuing Pokemon is a satisfying way to live, but only if you know how to battle. Blood can teach you that, but I can't.

"My studies are about finished, Minun. I would stay with you if you required it, but since Blood has given you this offer, I would urge you to take it. Not out of my own selfishness - I would never abandon you, and you know that - but for your own good."

Evie paused for a moment, looking intently at my face. I was trying my hardest not to cry. I'd never imagined that Evie, of all the Pokemon, would want to leave me. Why? For most of the life I could remember, Evie had been my ever-loyal guardian. Yet, now it seemed she was more than eager to get rid of me.

Evie seemed to realize what I was thinking.

"Minun, please don't think I want to leave you. I don't. This will be as painful for me as it is for you. Once you're gone, I won't have any reason to stay here anymore. This place has been my home for four years because I cared so much about you I sacrificed everything I had to take care of you, after your parents, and then Plusle, died.

But after you leave, I'll have to move on. I don't have that many prospects. Just like you, I'll be all alone, only that you will have something to work on, to focus on. But I'll be in the unknown." She paused. "But please don't worry about me. I'll probably join a rescue team, and go from there."

"What kind of rescue team?" I asked, worried. For a second, I managed to think of Evie, alone in the wilderness, and I felt apprehensive. A chill ran down my spine as I pictured her, fighting huge monsters just like the one that had killed Plusle. What if she was hurt? What would happen then?

Then a terrifying thought filled my mind: What if she was killed?

"It'll probably be one of the new expeditionary teams," she continued, oblivious to my silent terror. "They are teams that aren't really based in any town, like most are. Instead, they have their headquarters in frontiers far to the north, or the east, and they mostly explore, since there really aren't too many Pokemon needing to be rescued so far away from civilization."

"But still-" I started. Even if she didn't have to fight huge monsters, horrible images of her falling into hidden ravines and getting trapped in deep, treacherous parts of unknown caves caused me to worry even more than ever.

Evie smiled slightly. "Minun, it's very sweet that you care so much about me, but I ask that you do not worry. I promise I won't get hurt."

Although I didn't believe her, I nodded slightly. I was still getting over the shock that she actually wanted me to go on by myself, without her. To me, it seemed a daunting, terrifying way to spend the next few years, in some secluded mountain far away from everyone else, training with someone I barely knew.

Evie looked upwards at the sky. A slightly dreamy look was on her face as she spoke. "If Blood can teach you how to battle, then...one day, Minun, when you've finished your own training, you can come back here. Your village is constantly terrorized by that monster, and you could help defeat it.

Afterwards, you can move on to rescuing Pokemon - I can tell you from experience that it's a very rewarding lifestyle. Maybe you'll be as famous as Lucario, the best of the best - but only if you're willing to take this chance and learn."

Evie turned away from me and started for the door before I could say anything. "I'll go on a walk," she said. "Please, think about it." I knew she never went on walks at that time, but it didn't matter. There were more important things clouding my mind beside her rather unusual "walk".

My thoughts only scared me more. I was terrified by the notion of not having Evie. Soon, I might not know anything about her anymore, after we'd gone our separate ways. Soon, she wouldn't be my caretaker, my cheerful vaporeon that never failed to make me happy, even when I was gloomy and sad. Soon, she wouldn't be there to comfort me while I grieved for my parents, and for Plusle.

Soon, she wouldn't be there. She'd disappear, just like Plusle did so many months ago, leaving a big, hollow, gaping hole in my mind where he once laughed and danced as we played in the summer meadows.

For the first time in weeks, I cried myself to sleep. It felt strange to do that again; the only times I'd ever fallen asleep crying was when someone had died: my parents, and then Plusle. But in a way, Evie was dying. In fact, it was worse than dying. She was vanishing from my life forever.

That night, Evie sat on my bedside as she had done before. But that only made what was coming even more painful than it already was. To feel her softly patting my back, wiping the tears off my face, comforting me in the only way she could was depressing enough, but knowing that it was the last time she would ever do so made me feel crushed and defeated, as if the whole world was coming down on the two of us, separating us forever.

In the end, when she thought I had finally eased into sleep, she quietly left for her own bed. I heard her leave as I lay awake, sniffling. Although I only felt more soul-crushing sorrow, I silently thanked her for not staying any longer. If she had, I would never have been able to bear leaving her.

The next few days were full of packing. Soon, the whole village knew that we were leaving. Pokemon gathered at our hut by the dozens, all tearfully wishing us well. Some tried to beg us not to go. "You are the only happiness left in this village," they would say. "Plusle is dead. If you leave, Minun, there will be no more joy forever."

But I paid no attention to any of them. Nothing they said could comfort me. Nothing they said could make me feel happy. Nothing they said could lift the crushing blanket of sadness, of grief that enveloped me. Only Evie could do that, and in just a few days even she would be gone.

I didn't speak to anyone. Instead, I silently helped her pack all her boxes of specimens, all her journals full of her research. Waves of nostalgia washed over me as I peered at one of the flowers Plusle and I had collected and pressed for her, or that one memorable tale the three of us had heard from Old Kingsley, a genteel, jolly gyrados who lived on the far side of the valley. It was all ending now. Soon, it would be nothing but a fading memory of a time long gone.

The night before the departure arrived. As usual, Evie made supper. We ate silently, and retreated upstairs. I went to my room and fell onto my bed, exhausted from stacking journals and pushing boxes all around the hut.

Evie came in with a quiet shuffling of paws. "Minun?" She asked. "Are you asleep?"

I shifted slightly in reply.

She quietly moved over to my bed. "Minun, I just wanted to say goodbye," she said. Her voice was soft, reassuring, comforting. But there was nothing to reassure. And nothing could comfort me. When Plusle died, I no longer feared anything. Now...I no longer felt anything.

"Minun..." Evie started. I could hear the tremor in her voice, hear her pain. It was almost too much to bear.

Evie was sitting on the bed now, trying to reassure me, to comfort me. But her voice always seemed on the verge of tears, and once or twice she suddenly lost control, unable to speak for minutes at a time. And yet she still carried on bravely, even though I could sense that any second now, she would break down into tears.

But even though she was doing her best to sound reassuring and soothing, I could tell that even she didn't believe all the things she said about how everything was going to be okay, how I would survive, and one day appreciate that I'd made the choice to leave with Blood. Even she knew that I would suffer, that the days and nights of loneliness would leave a mark that would never go away.

"Evie," I wanted to say. "Evie, please. Spare yourself the agony. There is nothing you can do anymore. Just let me go." And it was true - there was nothing she could do anymore. Already I was beginning to feel empty. Already, everything was disappearing, soaring away on fleeting wings, leaving behind a bewildering sense of emptiness. What was the meaning of it all? Of happiness? Of life?

Nothing had any meaning anymore. Not without Plusle. Not without Evie.

But instead of speaking, I stayed silent. I couldn't say anything. It was as if I was a ghost, an invisible spectre silently watching as two grief-stricken Pokemon said their last goodbyes. For a moment, it felt as if I was really drifting away. But it was all too real, and there was no way I could escape it.

Eventually, Evie's reassuring words faded away to sniffles. I felt weary and weak, powerless to stop what was coming the next morning, but I finally mustered the strength to speak:

"Evie, it's okay now. Please stop crying, Evie."

But if I had expected that to calm the gushing tides of emotion that flowed out of her, I was wrong. With a shaky sob, she reached across the bed and embraced me in a crushing, desperate hug. "Oh, Minun...I'm so sorry..." she said between sobs that racked her body. "Minun...I never knew you'd feel so much pain...oh, if I knew, I would have stayed..."

Silently, I listened, tears trickling down my cheek as she cried.

* * *

Hours later, when Evie had fallen asleep next to me, was when I finally allowed myself to think. But there was nothing to think about. It was too late to change anything, too late to stop the inevitable. It was simply too late. Everything was done. There was no going back.

I turned to look at Evie's face. The raw pain, the terrible grief was still unmistakable, but her face also had a sort of peaceful quality to it as she slept. I let my eyes linger for a few minutes more, knowing that I would never see her again. A single tear slowly made its way down my cheek, but I didn't wipe it away.

"Goodbye, Evie," I whispered, more to reaffirm myself than to her. Then I slept.


	8. One Last Goodbye

The next morning, I woke before dawn. It was still dark outside as I pulled myself up. Evie was still sleeping, and I tried my best not to wake her. Still, she stirred just as I reached the door of my room.

"Mm?" She murmured drowsily. Her eyes opened slightly. She smiled faintly when she saw me, before drifting back to sleep.

I left the room and went downstairs. Everything was packed into boxes, huddled by the door. I stared at them. I'd never realized that we didn't have that many things at all - the boxes were surprisingly small, mostly filled with Evie's journals and little jars of plants and berries. None of the boxes were for me - Blood would never allow me to take any, and besides, I really didn't have anything I wanted to take. All of my old things seemed to belong to a past life, and I wanted to leave them untouched when I moved on.

The whole house felt empty, save for the dining area. Neither of us was taking the old table and the rough-hewn chairs; they were too heavy to carry. I moved to the side of the table. A single bowl was filled with Sitrus berries, left by Evie the night before for our breakfast. I took a bite out of one of them. Sour-sweet juice flooded my mouth, and I savored the flavor. It tasted like home, like the village, like the valley around me. It might be a long time - forever, even - before I could bite into another Sitrus berry. I quickly finished one, and then another.

I heard steps on the stairs as I reached for a third. There was Evie: sleepy-faced, quietly padding down the steps. She paused when she saw me, and I offered her a berry. "No, no, it's alright," she murmured. "I'm not hungry, that's all. Go ahead, eat."

I could feel Evie's gaze upon me as I ate several more berries. When I looked at her, I was surprised to see she was in tears. "Evie..." I started to say, but she shook her head. "I'm alright," she said determinedly, and willed herself to stop until she was only sniffling.

Evie came over and sat. We ate berries in silence for a few minutes, before Evie spoke again:

"Minun?"

"Yes?" I replied. What was she going to tell me now? There really wasn't anything to say anymore.

"I want to thank you."

I was silent, so she continued. "You've been such a good friend, Minun. I know it sounds so empty, but I mean it. All these years I've known you, not once have I doubted how sincere you were." She paused, looking off. "In fact...you're one of the only friends that I've ever had since...ever since-"

She shook her head. "Nevermind. But still...you two, Plusle and Minun, gave me so much more than anyone ever had. You were always there, always by my side, even when I wasn't at my best. You were so loyal...you kept with me through everything, even when you didn't have to. Sometimes, even, I wondered who was taking care of who."

She smiled through her tears. "I can't say how heartbroken I am that we are finally parting. Maybe forever, even. But...you know? Never have I regretted spending all these years here. I don't think I've ever been as happy in my life as the time when I was with you two. Even after Plusle died, when I felt it was all over...you showed me that...that life can go on even without the Pokemon you thought you'd never be able to live without.

You showed me that I could still feel joy, even though I was bitter...you showed me I could still feel happiness even though I was scarred. The years before I met you two were full of regret and depression. But now...now, even though our time is drawing to a close...I know that what you two taught me will last me forever.

Thank you, Minun."

I didn't know what to say. Evie waited in silence for a moment, and then she sighed. "It's alright, Minun. I understand. Sometimes...sometimes, there's just nothing left to be said." She gestured towards the bowl, half full of berries. "Dawn is in a few minutes," she noted. "We should finish our breakfast. Today is going to be a big day...as you already know."

When the dawn did arrive, Evie and I stood by the window and watched as the sky above the mountains slowly grew lighter. Fuzzy pinks and oranges replaced the dark indigo that I'd seen when I first woke up.

Then the sun itself began to rise beyond the peaks: a blazing, red-orange fireball. I shielded my eyes, and Evie turned me away from the window. "Some mornings, when you were still asleep, I would watch the sun rise over the mountains," she murmured. "It's such a beautiful sight, especially in this valley. But it's very bright. Too bright for young eyes like yours."

She looked out into the blazing skies. "I'll miss the sunrise," she said. "Just like I'll miss everything in this valley. Just like I'll miss you."

Suddenly, a knock at the door interrupted our reverie. "Oh," Evie quickly said, surprised. "Wait a second, Minun. I'll be right back." She made her way to the door and opened it. I watched as she spoke quickly to someone outside, before she stepped aside.

Blood dipped his head in greeting as he entered. "Good morning," he said, looking directly at me. "Minun, it's almost time to go. Have you everything you need?"

I nodded, walking over to the table and taking one of the Sitrus berries, as well as one of the paintings Sol had made of the three of us - Evie, Plusle, and I - surrounded by the tall trees of the forest he lived by. But besides those two souvenirs of a past time, I wouldn't have anything else: Blood told me that at the most, his team would only have a few spaces left in their team toolbox after they'd picked up all the food they needed for the journey back.

It hadn't taken me long to decide on those two things: everything else seemed unimportant and useless, like old, dusty relics. If I was really moving on, there was no need to take any of those things. All I needed was one small memory, in the form of the painting and the berry.

"My team is waiting for us at the foothills of the mountains. Shall we go?" Blood asked. I tried to clear my mind, and nodded. "Very well then," Blood continued. "Madam, I understand you will be accompanying us until the end of the village?"

"Yes. I'll turn back at the eastern hill," she said. Her tone had become very quiet and calm, although she avoided looking at me, choosing to stare at the floor instead. Blood dipped his head in acknowledgement, and the three of us headed outside. I turned and looked into the house for the last time - my gaze settling on the old table and the rough-hewn chairs with their colorful cushions that were so familiar to me - and then closed the door.

We made our way through the village's narrow, winding paths in silence, passing by the huts and homes that were so familiar to me. The town square was quiet: nothing stirred so early in the morning, and the whole village seemed to be bathed in a pale blue light. When we finally reached the edge of the village, where the huts ended, I saw a lone figure waiting for us: Albert, with his majestic wings at his sides, almost as if he were sleeping. Blood walked up to him and tapped him on the wing, and he opened his eyes to peer directly into mine.

"Hello, Minun," he said. His voice lacked its usual heartiness; it seemed tired and weary, as if he were about to concede defeat. "I am here to send you off. So is half the village," he said, managing a weak smile as he gestured towards a small crowd in the distance that I hadn't seen before. Suddenly, he seemed very sad. "It's so unfortunate that you are leaving forever. Really, we all wish you would stay, Minun," he said. "But nevermind. There is no avoiding it now. Come with me," he instructed.

Evie, Blood, and I followed him as he began the trek up the hill. As soon as we were in sight of the top, the crowd began to graviate towards us. I recognized most of the faces in the crowd, which included Sol and Plusle's parents, who immediately ran to me. Plusle's mother sobbed, while his father patted my back. "Make us proud," he said. "Someday, come back and avenge Plusle's death for us. But even if you don't...even if you decide to leave forever...please remember that this will always be your home, and if you ever need anything, we'll always be here for you." Plusle's mother nodded in agreement, and the two of them departed past us.

Sol was next. He mostly spoke in hoarse whispers to Evie, and they embraced. Then he turned to me. "I would like to say that Evie and I are very proud of you," he said in his gravelly voice. "You will do well in the future, Minun. Do not let this...this incident depress you." Then he stepped back into the crowd and disappeared.

Eventually, Albert managed to shoo most of the crowd away. The villagers reluctantly left, most of them patting my back, or shaking hands, or hugging me as they went by. All of them wished me well, and begged me to return someday, although I think they knew that that day might never come.

Now, there were only the three of us, plus Albert, who stood, calm and silent, as we said our final goodbyes. Evie and I embraced for what felt like an eternity. I never wanted to part with her, but eventually she pulled away. Fresh tears were streaming down her face again as she looked at me. "Minun..." she whispered. "Goodbye, Minun." I tried to think of something- anything to say, but I was so choked with sorrow that nothing came out.

Blood and I finally began the journey away from the village, but at the next hill, we paused. "W-wait," I said, and Blood halted for a moment. I turned back and looked at the hill, at the village, at the place I called home. I still remember that one last glance: Evie and Albert silhouetted against the blazing sunrise, waving at us as we were about to venture into the unknown.

Then we were gone.

* * *

**Author's Note: This is NOT the end of the story! In fact, you have only read about 2/3 of it. Yes, I know, it's already very, very long, but I am sure you will enjoy reading the remainder.**

**I have decided the remaining 1/3 is not very well written (I rushed to finish...or at least attempt to finish this in time for Christmas), so I will keep it offline while I rewrite it. But don't worry! Perhaps it'll be included as part of my "Year's End Release" :D**

**I am looking forward to your reviews! I know this is not the best writing and it often rambles, so it would be nice if you could give me some criticism. I judge interest in my stories based on reviews; so if you want to make sure this isn't put on hiatus in favor of other stories, try reviewing XD**

**Until then, happy reading! - Beacker1160**


	9. A New Beginning

******Author's Note: Ah! The first chapter of the last 1/3. Enjoy!**

* * *

About an hour later, we reached the foothills of the massive mountains. Blood and I regrouped with his team. They didn't seem very interested and largely ignored me, save for the Charizard, who introduced himself as Flame and welcomed me into the team.

Flame was very interested in me, although he seemed to sense my feelings, and left me alone for the first few days. But as the days of tiresome travel wore on, Flame became the closest to a companion I had in the group. During the long, back-breaking hikes through treacherous mountain passes, Flame would always be close by, following up the end with me as we talked about what life would be like.

From him I learned about my future home: it was an abandoned ruin that might have once been a castle, carved into a snowy, freezing cold, barren mountainside where blizzards ravaged the land nearly year round. But despite the harsh conditions, life was "alright", Flame claimed. "You'll get used to it," he would say to me. "It just takes a while."

At night, Flame kept the whole camp warm, using his tail as a makeshift campfire. Blood surrendered his spot, closest to the flames, to me, and resorted to patrolling aimlessly around the trail, claiming that he "wasn't tired". But I knew he was worried; I could see it in his eyes, no matter how closely guarded they were. Worried about what, I didn't know, but I could guess: he was deep in thought about just exactly how he would train me into the fighter that he'd promised that I'd become.

Finally, after two weeks of traveling, we arrived at that barren mountainside. Standing in the lifeless valley below, I looked up at the mountainside. It took me an hour before I found the castle itself: nestled into a rocky crag, just barely different from the snow-swept mountain around it. We trudged up the mountain, following an ancient, ruined road, all the way to the castle itself.

Within the crumbling walls, I was surprised to see that there was nothing but a few campfires that had long since snowed over. Blood smiled at my bewilderment. "Relax, Minun," he said. "The civilization that built this castle - whichever civilization that might be - also carved tunnels into the rock underneath the castle, perhaps to hide from the weather, or enemies of some sort. We use these ancient tunnels, which are exceedingly spacious and well-hidden, as our shelter." He walked over towards a pile of rubber close to the corner of the castle, and in one fluid attack, levitated all the broken stones aside to reveal a gaping hole large enough for even Flame to fit through. "Enter," he commanded, and I filed in with the rest of the team. Blood entered last, and shifted the rocks back, leaving us in darkness.

For a moment, I panicked. How would I know where I was going? Then a low glow came to life: Flame's tail, which was only smoldering in the cold outside, was slowly heating up to provide a warm, flickering goal. Using his tail as a torch, Flame led the procession down the ancient, musty tunnel, which quickly tilted downwards into the earth.

After what seemed like an eternity, the tunnel suddenly opened out into a gigantic chamber. A dozen smaller tunnels branched out from the chamber itself. "Welcome to our team base," Blood announced. "As you can see, these tunnels all head in their individual directions. From what we have explored, the tunnels lead to a massive dungeon underneath the mountain, full of wild Pokemon. But you needn't worry: we have sealed off the entrances to the dungeon, and use the smaller chambers scattered around the tunnels as our rooms, safely hidden from weather and wild Pokemon."

Blood turned to face the team. "Team," he said. "This journey has been long and arduous. Disperse to your rooms and rest." The team members began to file off into the various tunnels, but Blood wasn't done. "Flame," he said. "Stay here. You seem to be the friendliest with Minun. Show him around and assign him a room, please."

Flame nodded, and Blood abruptly disappeared into one of the tunnels. Flame waited until he was sure Blood was gone before he spoke. "He's not as strong as he wants you to believe," Flame said quietly. "Sometimes...well, we worry about him. The team, I mean. We're worried that someday he might break down. Absol are sturdy, strong Pokemon, but they're not impervious to everything."

Flame paused. A concerned look had spread across his face. "He never gets enough to eat, never gets enough rest. He seems to dedicate his whole entire life to training us, perfecting us...throwing his own health to the wind. And, as you know, the wind around this desolate place is harsh and unforgiving."

Flame shook his head. "Anyways. Sorry, I tend to ramble. Let's get on with your room."

When we finally arrived, I was surprised. My tiny little niche was less than half the size of my already small room back at the village. It contained a bare blanket, an old pillow, and one small, wooden shelf, all colored a drab brown. Flame gestured to the blanket. "You'll sleep there," he said, and he grimaced with sympathy when he saw my face. "Well, you'll get used to it," he said. "We all do."

Briefly, I imagined Flame trying to fit into such a tiny space. It seemed absurd, but I was too tired to laugh.

"Well, you better get to sleep. Blood wants all of us to wake early. It's part of our training," Flame explained, and gestured towards the blanket again. "Get as much rest as you can. See you next morning." With that, he left.

* * *

Long after he'd gone, I was still lying in my threadbare blanket, feeling the cold seep into me from the icy stone below. A thickness permeated the frosty air of the cave. I shivered as a cool draft passed over me: the cave slowly ventilated itself through some ancient system. Evie had told me about them once: about how one exit was higher than another, or something along those lines, causing air to flow through the caves.

Suddenly, a surge of thoughts rushed into my head. Evie! Throughout the weeks of traveling, I was so tired that I hardly had time to think of what I was doing, let alone the life I left behind. I was so exhausted at night that when I fell asleep, my numb, frozen skin warmed by Flame's fire, I had no dreams. Only a murky, darkness that exist for my few hours of sleep, before Blood woke us all up the next day before dawn to continue.

But now that I had arrived, I was free to think of Evie, of the village, of the look on Albert's face as he sent me off. I wondered what Evie was doing now that I was gone. She was probably waiting for the next rescue team to arrive in the valley so she could leave with them. And after she was gone, the hut would be empty and desolate: an abandoned memory from past times. Briefly, I wondered if she was thinking of me too, but I already knew the answer. The pain, the grief, the separation itself were all still fresh in her mind, and so was I.

It was these thoughts that were in my head as I drifted off into an exhausted sleep, full of the murky darkness that I had become used to during my long, tiring trip to Blood's rescue team base. But now, there was a faint voice calling out to me in the darkness: Evie, already fading from my thoughts, our lives growing farther and farther apart by the second.


	10. The Ancient Relic

**Author's Note: Hi all. Sorry for the month of inactivity before this update. Writing the first nine chapters really ran my inspiration dry (unfortunately, that's a normal sort of thing for me after each major leap in progress), so it took a while for me to gain momentum again. But now, after one month of writing and several resubmits (sigh, FFN refused to recognize my story was updated), we have the tenth chapter, called The Ancient Relic, for you to enjoy. Happy reading!**

* * *

"Wake up, Minun."

Suddenly, I jerked awake. My eyes flew open in an instant: there was Flame, his icy blue eyes staring right at me. He smiled as he bade me good morning, and helped me up.

"Alright," he said when I'd oriented myself. "It's time to begin our day."

Flame whistled as we made our way down the drafty corridor. Nobody else was in sight, and from the brief glances I got as Flame's bright tail passed over the shadowy entranceways, most of the rooms seemed empty and deserted. It seemed odd that the base was so spread out, when there was so much room so close to the main chamber. Shaking my head, I cleared my mind of the thought. There would be more important things to focus on soon.

When we reached the main chamber, the whole team was already assembled. Finally, after weeks of traveling through thick snowfall and blinding blizzards, I was able to get a good look at them. Blood stood in the center, and surrounding him were a Hitmonlee, a Lapras, a Mawhile, and of course, Flame.

But something seemed strange: Blood had mentioned to me once that he was in charge of "half a dozen of the finest Pokemon I have found in my travels"; yet there had been only five along the whole journey.

Suddenly, tendrils of purple smoke began to envelope me from behind. I fought as they smothered me, but to no avail; the smoke simply came back thicker and more suffocating each time I clawed it away. Panicking, I shouted for help, but I only heard laughter coming from the center.

"Oh, give him a break, you," someone finally said. Instantly, the smoke began to recede away. I gasped for air, coughing up the thick slime that the poisonous smoke had made in my lungs. The gas was so overpowering that it seemed impossible for any Pokemon to make it. But it was a Pokemon that made it: as I was still hunched over, coughing, a pair of huge eyes floated into my view. I backed away suddenly, and watched as the faint purple gas began to cluster behind the eyes until it resembled a shadowy sphere. A purple haze surrounded the Pokemon as it loomed in front of me, staring down at me.

It was a moment before anyone moved. Then, suddenly, Blood took a step towards us. "That's enough," he said. "Minun, this is our team's gastly, Nightmare." He turned to Nightmare. "And this is Minun," he said. "He comes from Albert's village. I know you did not accompany us there this time, but if I remember correctly, you have been there before."

The gastly nodded so slightly that it was almost impossible to tell. "Well, then you are familiar with his hometown, and the monster that inhabits a mountain near it," Blood said. "At present I won't divulge why he came to be in our team, as it's a very long story. I'll speak to you in private later, Nightmare, if you wish to know."

Again the gastly nodded. Blood turned back to the rest of the team, who had started to quietly talk amongst themselves. "We begin training now," he said. "Pair up for practice battles." Blood watched as several team members shuffled towards each other, picking opponents. Nightmare left our side to challenge the hitmonlee, while the lapras and the mawhile quickly disappeared together into one of the chambers.

Finally, there was only Flame. He seemed at lost of what to do, but he eventually shrugged and moved over to Blood with a hopeful look on his face. "Are you going to be training Minun-" he started to ask, and his face fell when Blood nodded. "Of course. He must learn the basics of battle. As for you, since you don't have a partner, just wait for one of them to be defeated, and you may join in."

Flame sighed. "Alright," he said, and lumbered away.

Blood waited until everyone had departed. "Come with me," he said, and started off into one of the tunnels. I struggled to keep up with Blood's brisk pace as we made our way through the twisting, turning depths. Every dozen feet or so, Blood would summon a mysterious flame to light up the cold, lifeless torches along the cave walls. Still, despite the warm glow of the fire, I still shivered in the freezing temperature, though not nearly as much as I had when we first arrived. It seemed I was getting used to the caves, although I wondered if I would really be staying here long enough for that to be a good thing.

Eventually, we reached a river. Murky water rushed out of the darkness, washing over wet stones that twinkled in Blood's flame. "We'll have to cross," Blood said, motioning at the roaring current. "It's not that deep. Come along now." Without waiting for me, he quickly plunged into the icy water and began swimming in brisk strokes across.

Tentatively, I dipped a paw in the rushing water. Immediately, I jerked back - it was beyond freezing, chilling me to the bone. I hesitated for a few seconds, watching as Blood climbed out onto the opposite bank. He turned to look at me, waiting. I tried to make myself move, but all I could hear was the roar of the water as I imagined myself being swept away into the freezing depths.

Suddenly, something shoved me from behind. I didn't have time to cry out as I plunged into the water. My whole body erupted into a burning, searing pain. My arms and legs quickly went numb, until I could barely move them. I frantically tried to swim against the current, but it was all I could do to stay afloat. From the brief glimpses I had when my head was above the rushing water, I saw Blood running along the bank, looking out at me as he watched me struggle.

Anger coursed through me as I realized the truth: he had probably used his powers to push me into the water. My rage invigorated me, and I forced myself to swim towards the other shore with all the power I could muster. I barely made any progress, but with every stroke, I knew I was getting closer to the edge, closer to the end of it all. Determined, I swam on, until finally I felt a faint bump from my numb foot: one of the large rocks that made up the rising bank.

Blood was barely a few feet from me as I spent the last of my strength hauling myself out of the freezing, rushing river, before collapsing in a puddle in front of him. It seemed like hours before feeling started to return to my arms and legs: at first, as a faint prickle, and then as an agonizing swarm of needles that painfully pierced my whole body. All the while, Blood sat, watching, without a single move to help me.

When I could finally stand, wobbling weakly around the bank as I tried to regain control over my legs, I saw his blank expression change into a small smile. "Well done," he said, and produced a small, red berry that he must've carried the whole way, knowing what would eventually happen. "Eat it," he instructed, handing it to me. "It will help you feel better."

I took the berry from his paw, holding it in my clammy hand. A faint warmth emanated from it, and before I could think, I had already taken a small bite out of it. Burning hot, spicy juice filled my mouth, and despite the spiciness, I quickly downed the whole berry. Immediately, I started to feel stronger, as the berry's effect coursed through my body. Soon, I felt almost as well as before I plunged into the river, although I still shivered from my wet fur.

Blood had been staring at me the whole time, and he could see the look of anger in my eyes as I finally turned and faced him. He quickly held up a paw to stop me from lashing out angrily at him.

"Sometimes, one cannot afford to hesitate," he said softly. "After all, if you keep delaying, you will never begin. At those times, a little help can be useful. It might make you realize that you do, indeed, possess the abilities that you doubted of yourself before."

Before I could reply, he had already turned and started walking back up the bank. "Follow me," he said. "We're not quite where I want us to be yet."

* * *

When we finally arrived at where Blood had wanted to take me, I was amazed. It was hard to believe such a place existed. It was a whole new world, a paradise of dozens of different plants and berries separated from the damp, dark caves by miles of tunnels. Blood and I stood at the edge of the giant hollow, and he motioned for me to step in.

The hollow itself was a huge, underground dome, arching upwards towards the ceiling of the cave. Massive stalactites hung from the ceiling far above, and equally giant stalagmites rose upwards to meet them. Tiny, glowing crystals were embedded in the rock of the ceiling, giving the illusion of a starry night sky, and thick vines snaked upwards towards the top of the hollow. The ground felt boggy, and hundreds of exotic plants grew from the damp soil, many of them loaded with berries I'd never seen before. I reached out to pluck one of the tiny fruits, but Blood shook his head.

"We've learned painfully that these berries are almost always toxic," he warned me. "Indeed, that berry I gave you earlier did come from here, but it is almost indistinguishable from its many toxic brothers and sisters, all of whom look the same. The only method of identifying the edible ones is the very slight difference in their smell. But, of course, it takes years of practice to recognize such a tiny change.

Blood turned to look at the giant hollow. "For many months after Flame discovered this chamber by accident after he lost himself past the river, I have tried unsuccessfully to understand its mysteries. It appears the hollow itself is natural; however, these plants are not. As you can see, they are quite exotic and strange, and appear to come from faraway lands.

My understanding is that whoever filled this hollow with these plants was probably intending to safeguard them, but from what, I do not know. Perhaps these are all members of a very rare group of plants that are easily affected by the recurring natural disasters. These types of plants used to be fairly common, but died out hundreds of years ago after the natural disasters began happening. My theory does seem to be true, as I've taken several of them out on some of my excursions, and they've all died almost immediately once they're exposed to the environment outside..."

Blood continued on for what felt like hours, at times barely above a whisper, as if he was mumbling to himself. I took my time looking carefully at all the plants I could see, admiring their exotic shapes and colors. They ranged from tiny nubs poking out of the ground to gigantic, fleshy stalks rising towards the ceiling, to more woody trees with unusually colored leaves. Eventually, Blood stopped talking; he merely looked out into the dense jungle of plants, deep in thought. We stood together for several more minutes before he finally came back to reality.

"Minun, do you know why I took you here?" He asked.

I shrugged. "You wanted me to see the plants, didn't you?" I replied. Still, I knew my answer was probably wrong. Blood just didn't seem like he would travel such a long way just to visit a hollow full of plants.

"No, Minun. Follow me. We are going to the center of the hollow, where my reason for taking you here has lain for many ages."

Blood set off through the thick, lush cover of low-lying plants that hugged the boggy ground. I followed quickly behind, letting Blood plow through the shrubs and stalks and trying not to let anything touch me. Surprisingly, there were no wild Pokemon among the dense jungle of plants; at first, I half expected something to attack me any second, but I gradually relaxed as we continued towards the center of the hollow. It seemed so far away, and as we traveled, I began to get a sense of just how large the hollow really was: a massive, circular expanse, perfect for hiding from the troubled world above for hundreds of years, like the plants did.

We finally reached as close to the center as we could get. A massive wall of tall, thick trees completely blocked our way, like an impenetrable wall with the center lying just beyond. Blood paused for a moment, studying the trees. He began to circle around, checking each one, looking for some hidden thing I had no clue about. He mumbled to himself every once in a while as I patiently waited, following him as we slowly revolved around the outside of the grove.

Finally, Blood seemed to find what he was looking for. I watched as he examined one of the larger trees for a few seconds, as if he was verifying something, before dashing off towards an old, rotten stump nearby. He returned with several giant berries, all colored a sour green. We made our way back to the tree he'd selected, where he broke apart the berries and started to slather the bark of the tree with the thick juice inside. He worked determinedly for several minutes, making sure to cover all of the bark, and even gently tipping some into a gnarly, scarred hole he'd discovered nested into the bark.

"And now we wait," he said after he was finally done. "It may take a while for the berries to take effect. But once they do, I will finally be able to reveal this hollow's secret to you." Blood looked off into the distance again. "Whoever built this hollow did not do so solely to conserve these plants. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but they unearthed an extremely rare relic buried at the center of the hollow. Very few of these relics have been found...in fact, I believe that one of the only Pokemon that know the whereabouts of more than one is the legendary Xatu of the Hill of the Ancients.

"What the relic does is unknown, but it emanates an unbelievable amount of power. It's not rare for anyone who gets too close to it to instantly vaporize, only to be found later wandering in faraway places. Such was what happened to me when I first discovered the relic. All I remember was a blinding light, and then suddenly I was at the entrance of Tiny Woods, all the way down near the sunny plains." Blood smiled as he reminisced. "Fortunately Flame kept everything orderly while I made my way back. Afterwards, nobody ever touched the relic again."

Suddenly, a loud groaning noise emanated from the tree that Blood had slathered with the berry juice. I turned around to check it, and gasped - the tree was a sickly dark green, and looked like it was about to collapse. "Stand back," Blood ordered, and when I'd backed away, he summoned a powerful ball of energy that blew the tree to pieces, throwing up a dusty cloud of dark green powder. I coughed violently as the awful, acidic smell of the rotten tree invaded my lungs, but Blood paid no attention; he seemed completely focused on where the tree had been.

We waited for the powdery, acrid dust to settle down. When it'd cleared enough for Blood to walk through it, he started forwards, motioning for me to come along. We stepped into the center of the hollow, beyond the impenetrable wall that the grove of trees made. A small, rocky hill lay just beyond the line of trees, rising upwards sharply like a giant stalagmite. Ancient footholds, worn smooth from eons of use were just barely visible on the face of the rock, and Blood carefully began to climb. I followed behind him cautiously, making sure my feet had a firm grip before I grasped the next foothold.

Soon we were high enough to see over the tops of most of the trees and the giant stalks that filled the hollow. Blood paused to point out where we'd first entered the hollow: from where we were, it looked like a tiny hole carved into the side, like a murky eye on a giant face made of rock.

The top of the hill was barely a dozen feet across; yet, Blood somehow hauled himself up and managed to lie down and rest without falling off. Briefly, I imaged him falling asleep and tumbling down the entire height of the hill, but when he fixed his gaze on me, watching as I struggled towards the last few steps, I knew he was just as awake as I was.

When I finally wrestled myself to the top of the hill, I was amazed. Right in front of me was one of the strangest rocks I'd ever seen. It was roundish in shape, the color of marble, with bands of gold running along its length. It took up nearly half the space at the top, leaving barely any room for Blood and I to fit if we didn't want to touch it.

Blood was doing his best to make sure he wouldn't accidentally brush it, while I concentrated on trying to observe every tiny detail of the rock. Colorful runes had been carved into the surface, and they glowed brightly. From somewhere deep inside the rock, a raw power emanated; I could almost hear it rumbling, and I shuddered every time I got close to it.

"The rock which you are exploring at this moment is the relic I spoke of earlier," Blood informed me. "It is rather strange, is it? Again, these are very, very rare. Extraordinarily rare, even. And indeed, nothing much is known about them. These rocks are full of mysteries...they're a giant puzzle in themselves. And one of my goals is to discover all I can about the relic, so I may unravel its mysteries.

"But I did not bring you here merely to let you have a chance to see such a rare thing, Minun," Blood continued. "I brought you here for a very specific purpose: to train you."

"To train me?" I asked, surprised. I didn't see how I could ever become better by staring at an ancient relic with glowing runes.

"Yes. To train you." Blood said, nodding. "Besides their rarity and the fact that their power often teleport anyone that touches them to faraway lands, these relics have another ability: the ability to change types at will. Indeed...the colors on the relic are actually all the different types the relic can transform itself into."

Blood knew my next question even before I said it. "Ah, it can attack as well," he said. "Of course, it does not attack in any...normal way." He looked upwards, at the ceiling of the hollow. Right above us, at the very top of the dome, a giant, luminous crystal was set into the rock of the ceiling. It was sharply cut, with dozens of facets at all sorts of angles. A faint light seemed to emanate from it, making the translucent crystal appear to shine.

"The relic appears to be able to draw on its mysterious power to produce a very powerful beam of light whenever it's hit with an attack. The light hits the crystal above, and refracts onto the attacker. And, since the relic is able to change type, the exact nature of the beam of light depends on who the attacker is."

Amazed, I listened on as he explained to me what he knew the relic could do. It was truly awe-inspiring: Blood spoke of the relic summoning a swarm of tiny insects when he attacked it with a dark type move, and when he had Flame send a huge stream of flame, the relic summoned a hail of stones that quickly knocked Flame out. Even the Lapras, whom Blood called "Shelly", couldn't withstand the huge arcs of lightning that the relic violently lashed out with when she sent a powerful jet of water straight at it. It was as if the relic was capable of doing everything. It was an invincible beast, power surging through its runes, and mere Pokemon paled in comparison.

I shuddered as I thought of what it could do to me if I attacked it. I knew that if it hit me, I would be wiped out in an instant. A darker question invaded my mind: would I ever wake up? If the relic could take out fully grown Pokemon in a matter of seconds...what could it do to me?

Blood had been staring intensely at my face as I thought, and he seemed to get an idea of my fears. "Indeed, the relic is a beast, Minun," he said. "A very powerful one, full of ancient energy imbued in it by powers beyond our understanding."

He advanced closer to it. "But it is not an invincible beast. With great caution, great persistence, great skill and tactics...it can be conquered. It can be defeated, Minun."

He turned to look at me. "Minun...there is a reason why I chose to take you here, even from the start, rather than have you face Shelly, or Flame, or one of the other Pokemon. It's because I know you have the potential to take on such a powerful foe, Minun. Those...those traumatic incidents, they have changed you. For worse, you might say, and I agree, but I also see something positive, something beneficial, though it is very well hidden.

"I can imagine how you felt when Plusle died, Minun. It felt as if nowhere was safe anymore...as if nobody could protect you from that beast. Am I correct?" Blood asked.

I nodded silently, trying to keep the memories from flooding back into my head. Memories that I had buried...memories that I had kept locked away...because of Blood, they were awakening again.

"And yet...something else changed inside you," Blood said. There was a very serious look on his face as he stared down at me. "Something happened to you, Minun. Something subtle, something hidden. But I can see it in your eyes, Minun. Buried underneath all the tired, gloomy, depressed feelings...there lurks a simmering anger. A silent determination...a cry for revenge, for justice, deep inside. Left dormant, it may one day turn you into a violent, delusional monster, fueled by years and years of suppressed rage, of pure anger. But it is a powerful force, Minun, if you can learn to use it correctly."

Blood started to pace around the relic. "Focus, Minun!" He shouted. "Focus on that anger! Channel it! Make it work for you! Think of the day Plusle died...think of that beast, smashing his body to pieces,as it must have! Think of your terror as you watched without being able to do anything, to help your friend in need. Think of that beast, still lurking in its chambers, deep in the mountain, awaiting its next victim. And only you can stop it!"

Blood's eyes glinted with an almost fanatical energy. He was almost roaring as he spoke. "I will say that again, Minun. I will repeat it until you truly understand the meaning of what I am saying! Plusle died because that savage beast had no mercy! Only you can stop that thing, Minun! Only you can free your village from it! Only you can prove that Plusle's death was not in vain...only you can show that although he is gone forever...you will continue his legacy by destroying that monster, by making sure that never again will anyone fall victim to its savagery!"

My head pounded as I listened to Blood shout. An agonizing fury was building up in me as memories tormented my mind. All I could see when I shut my eyes was Plusle's limp body lying on the ground, covered in blood as it was smashed to pieces...all I could see was Evie, sobbing as she realized that Plusle was gone forever. He'd brought back everything I had tried to ignore...everything I had wanted to forget...everything I had tried to put aside so I could move on. I could barely think anymore as Blood filled my mind with the agonizing memories that I never wanted to think about again. My body shuddered uncontrollably; static flew from my cheeks as all the pent up power inside me became so intense that I thought I would explode.

Suddenly, It was as if my body erupted: terrifying bolts of lightning flew from me, arcing upwards towards the ceiling. I could almost feel the raw power, the pure fury coursing out from me as intense bursts of lightning. The burnt air around me sizzled and cracked as if it were alive. I could barely hear Blood shout. I could barely notice the relic glowing, the ground rumbling...

I don't remember exactly what happened at that moment, but something slammed into me right as the relic attacked. Something cut through the raw electricity shooting out from me, knocking me roughly to the side. Suddenly, I was falling off the relic hill. Claws gripped at my charged, crackling fur, struggling to grab hold of me. All the energy I had left passed from me to Blood, shocking him as wave after wave of electricity coursed through me to him. And yet he still held determinedly onto me, pressing me into his soft fur as we tumbled down the hill to protect me from the sharp rocks that poked out of the edges.

When finally came to a stop, Blood weakly pulled himself off me. I struggled to open my eyes, and I saw a startling sight: his pristine white fur was stained by bloody gashes that the rocks must have inflicted on him. Parts of his fur were singed black from my shockwaves, and he gasped for air. And yet, despite all his wounds, he still seemed focused on me.

"Look...up there..." He wheezed. I raised my head a little at a time until I could glimpse where he had pointed. A raging, dusty tornado had completely engulfed the top of the hill, as it violently swung pieces of rock around the relic. I shuddered weakly as I thought of what would have happened to me if I hadn't been knocked away from certain death by Blood.

Suddenly, a wave of nausea passed through my body, and I fought the urge to throw up. My vision was dizzy, and I felt painful and lightheaded. My whole body ached from the powerful surge of lightning I had released, and I lay my head down on the ground, giving in to sleep.

The last thing I saw before I passed out was Blood standing over me, shielding me from the powerful gusts of wind the tornado flung all along the hollow. He was grimacing in pain; yet, as I watched, his mouth curled into a weak smile.

"Well done...Minun..." he whispered.


End file.
